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Confederate Women of Arkansas 

IN THE 

CIVIL WAR 

1861 -'65 



Memorial Reminiscences 



PUBLISHED BY 

The United Confederate Veterans 

of 

Arkansas 



November 1907 



State Committee on Memorial to Women of the Confederacy 

J. M. LUCEY. Chairman J. KELLOGG, Secretary 

J. H. BERRY V. Y. COOK DAN W. JONES 

CHARLES COFFIN 



PRICE: PAPER. 50 CENTS PER COPY 
CLOTH. $1.00 PER COPY 
Order of J. KELLOGG, Little Rock. Ark. 



H, G. PUGH PTG. CO., LITTLE ROCK, i 



/ 
/ 



-^ 



Uss 



Copyright 
1907 
By J. KELLOGG, Secretary 
Memorial Committee, U. C. V. 



TRANSFLnRcD FROM 
OOPYHIflHT OFFICE 

DEC 2 tait 




J. M. Lucey 
Dan W. Jones 



J. H. Berry 
Chas. Coffin 



J. Kellogg 
V. Y. Cook 



This volume is dedicated to the Confederate IVomen of 
Arkansas and of the South, as a memorial of their glorious 
work in behalf of the Confederate States of America. 

J. M. Lucey, Chairman, 

J. Kellogg, Secretary, 

V. Y. Cook, 

Chas. Coffin, 

Dan W. Jones, 

J. H. Berry, 

Committee. 



Contents. 



Page 

Preface ----------------- 13 

AUGUSTA— 

"■Reminiseencos of the War Between the States." 

By Mrs. Eugene R. Goodwin -------17 

''SigeFs Raiders Bum a Fine Home," 

By Mrs. Homer F. Sloan -------- 23 

BATESVILLE— 

"Personal Recollections of 1863," 

By Mrs. Emily S. Reed - - - - - - - -..-24 

BIG FOR,K— 

"Privations of a Soldier's Widow." 

By Mrs. M. M. Hendrix --------- 27 

BRINKLEY— 

"Bravery of Miss Linnie Hutchinson," 

By "Major W. F. Forbes - - - - - - . . 29 

CLARKSVILLE— 

"Sketch of :\[rs. Lutetia M. Howells." 

By Mrs. Sallie E. Jordan -------- 31 

CHARLESTOX— 

"Heroic Deeds of Southern Women,'" 

Bv Mrs. K. D. Goodbar ---------- 34 

"Mrs. Richard Ledbetter," 

By Mrs. K. D. Goodbar --------- 36 

"['nprinted Arkansas History,'" 

By Mrs. L. J. Garnwick ---------- 37 

CA]iIDEN— 

"Reminiscences of Mrs. Virginia Cleaver.'' 

By Mrs. Virginia C. Cleaver - - - - - - -38 

"Work of Camden Women," 

By Mi-s. G. N. Stinson --------- 43 

"Reminiscences of Mrs. E. S. Scott,'" 

By Mrs. A. A. Tufts ---------- 4fi 

"Praver of Mrs. Hood Moving Federal Raider-."" 

Bv Mrs. S. Hood --'--------- 49 

"Recollections of M. C. Hines"" -------- 51 



CONTENTS II. 

Page 

CORSICANA— 

"Federal Raiders/' 

By Mrs. Laura A. Wooten - - 53 

DE QUEEN— 

"When Papa Was Gone to the War," 

By Mrs. L. A. Eason - -...54 

"Incident in the Life of Mrs. C. K. Holman," 

By Miss Ida C. Hohnan --------- 55 

DODDRIDGE— 

"Women Plowing in the Field," 

By Mrs. James ------ 56 

DARDANELLE— 

"Southern Women Walking Fifty Miles to Mill," 

By E. E. Collier ---------- 53 

"Bloody Work of Bushwhackers Near Pocahontas," 

By Mrs. S. C. Hall - - - - - 59 

EL DORADO— 

"How Women Supported the Family," 

By Mrs. Pattie Wright Hedges ------ 62 

ELMO— 

"Farewell to Jacksonport Guards," 

By Mrs. V. Y. Cook -.----.-.- 67 

EUREKA SPRINGS— 

"Hardships of the Wife of a Captain in Monroe's Regiment," 
By Mrs. D. L. Vance --------- 69 

FAYETTEVILLE— 

"Miss Barrington's Bravery," 

By Mrs. F. L. Sutton 7S 

FORT SMITH— 

"Miss McSweeny as a Confederate Spv," 

By J. M. Lucey ----------- 75 

"Sketch of Mrs. Sallie Wallace Rutherford." 

By Miss Emilise Dowd --------- 77 

"Sketch of Mrs. Sophia Kannady, a Heroine of Fort Smith,'^ 

By W. J. Weaver - - - - 79 

"Sketch of Mrs. W. L. Cabell," 

By Lieut.-Gen. W. L. Cabell - - 86 

"Sketch of Judge Rogers and Family of Fort Smith," - 89 

GRAY— 

"Husband and Five Brothers in the W.ar," 

By Mrs. Mahaley Pollard - 9.0 



CONTENTS III. 

Page 

HAERISOX— 

"Federal Eaiders and Their Cruelties," 

By Mrs. J. B. Crump 91 

"Two Brave Women," 

By Mrs. J. B. Crump --------- 93 

HAVANA— 

"Husband Killed at Sliiloh," 

By Mrs. Anna .Mitchell - - - - 95 

HOPE— 

"Weaving Jeans for the Confederates," 

By Mrs. M. C. Livingston - - 97 

"Hospital Work of Judge James Green and Wife," 

By B. W. Green, of Little Rock .-. - - - - - DD 

HOT SPRINGS— 

"Narrow Escape from Federal Prison," 

By Mrs. Sue L. James 101 

"Work of Mrs. James M. Keller," 

By J. M. Lucey ----------- 113 

IMBODEN- 

"Braver}^ of Mrs. Clay Robinson," 

By Mrs. J. C. Poindexter - - - - - - - -115 

JAOKSONPORT— 

"Personal Recollections," 

By Mrs. Josephine Robinson Brandenburg - - 131 

LAKE VILLAGE— 

"Sketch of Mrs. D. H. Reynolds." 

By J.^ W. McMurray - - - . 123 

LITTLE ROCK— 

"Sam C. Bell and Charles Scott," 

By Mrs. Mary E. Woodruff Bell ----- 135 
"Reminiscences of the Old South," 

By Mrs. Ehnira F. Snodgrass ------ 13T 

"Sketch of Mrs. Jared C. Martin," 

By Mrs. Mollie D. Martin - - 13:1 

"Arkansas Sisters of Mercy in the W\ar," 

By J. M. Lucey -'--------- 134 

"■"Federal Raiders of Mississippi," 

By Mrs. Mary Brunson _-. 141 

LOCKESBURG— 

"Raid of Clavton's Regiment," 

By Mrs.' S. D. Dickson -------- 143 



CONTENTS IV. 

'"ago 

MARIANNA— 

"The Daughter of the First Arkansas Regiment,'' 

By Miss Laura Grovan -------- 144 

MONTICELLO— 

"Sketch of Mrs. W. F. Slemmons," 

By Mrs. Willie Slemmons Duke ----- 14G 

NASHVILLE— 

"Sufferings of Ellis Family at Baily Springs, Ala.," 

By J\Irs. Cora Williamson Kodgers ----- 148 

"The Williamson Family of Alabama," 

By Mrs. Cora Williamson Rodgers . _ _ - 151 

NEWPORT— 

"Sketch of Mrs. Laura C. Doswell,'" 

By Mrs. C. H. Wilmans -------- 154 

OZARK— 

"Cruelties of the l.'lth Kansas Cavalry," 

By Mrs. Jeffers ----------- 155 

PRAIRIE GROVE— 

• "Heroism of Mrs. N. J. Norton Staples." 

By Mrs. D. H. Torbett -------- 158 

SALINE COUNTY— 

"A Husband Hangetl for His ^loney," 

By Mrs. 0. M. Mashburn - "- - - - - - 160 

SPRINGTOWN— 

"Ditficulties of Life of Confederate Women." 

By Mrs. W. D. Wasson -------- IGl 

UNION COUNTY— 

"Sherman's Raid," 

By Mrs. ^ktargaret E. Rusb ------- 165 

WALNUT RIDGE— 

"Anderson ville A'^indicated," 

By Chas. Coffin ----------- 166 



CONTEXTS V. 

CONTENTS EXTRA. 

Pag-e 

A Safe Hiding Place - 23 

She Knew Her Boys - - - - 26 

A Story of the Lees 28 

A Heroine of Chickamauga 30 

Short Rations - - 33 

Don't Let the Old Man Bleed on the Biscuits ------- 35 

Brave and Fearless to the End 37 

Father Murphy and General Butler 42 

Would Never Love Another Country - - - - - 45 

A Modest Request - - 48 

Carrying Out His Orders 50 

Religious Loyalty ------ 53 

Grand Rounds 57 

Long Way From Headquarters 61 

Disposal of "Rebel Women" - 66 

Lee's Farewell Address 68 

Caring for Sick Soldiers in Granville County, N. C. 72 

Jefferson Davis' Suggested Inscription for Monument to Women 

of Confederacy - 78 

Captain Sallie Tompkins 85 

Socks That Never Wore Out 88 

Privations Borne With a Smile - - - 94 

General Forrest's Tribute - 98 

Saving a Watch 100 

Sherman Thought Southern Women Tough Set 114 

John Wise and His Big Clothes 118 

Origin of Confederate Memorial Association - - 119 

The Heart of Robert Bruce 120 

General Forrest's Secret - - - - - - - 122 

John Allen's Cow 124 

First Recognition of Confederate Flag 124 

Sign of the Stork - - 126 

JelTerson Davis Monument 131 

Bates and the Flag 140 

Whip^ped the Yankees with Popguns 142 

Misplaced Sympathy - 147 

An Arkansas Woman Captured by a Gunboat 150 

A Plucky Woman of Maine 153 

A Memorial Incident - 157 

Persimmons to Draw Stomach Up - - 159 

Johnnie Reb. Captured 162 

Somebody's Darling - 163 

The Rebel Yell ------- I64 

A Northern War Nurse I67 

Southern Cross of Honor - - - - 168 

History of Confederate Uniform and Flag 172 

Flags of the Confederacy Officially Described -.---- 177 
The Women of the Confederacy, God Bless Them - - - - 180 
Confederate Generals, Lieut.-Generals and Maj. -Generals - - 182 



CONTENTS VI 

Pape 

The Bishops in the War 184 

Letter From Confederate Women to the Soldiers ... - - 186 

Original Version of Dixie 187 

General Grant Sworn to Secrecy by a Little Girl 188 

Army Order of Gen. Lee at Chambersburg, Pa. 19o 

The Mother of Seven Soldiers 191 

The Homespun Dress r 192 

Poem to the Women of the Confederacy 194 

Letter of Mrs. Jefferson Davis to J. L. Underwood 196 

Vivid History of Our Battle Flag 197 

Origin of the United Daughters of the Confederacy - - - - 199 

Origin of United Sons of Confederate Veterans 202 

Origin of United Confederate Veterans 205 

Southern Girls Marry Gne-Legged Soldiers 207 

Specimen Cases of Desertion 208 

Woman's Devotion 212 

The Confederate Museum of Richmond 214 

Barbara Frietchie 217 

The Conquered Banner 219 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

Memorial Committee, U. C. V. 4 

New State Capitol and Grounds 12 

Mrs. C. K. Holman, of De Queen ..---- 56 

Mrs. Sallie Wallace Rutherford 72 

Mrs. Sophia Kannady - - - - 80 

Gen. W. L. Cabell, Mrs. W. L. Cabell, and Mrs. Kate Cabell Muse 84 

Judge J. H. Rogers and Mrs. Bessie (Rogers) Ray 88 

Mrs. Sue L. James, Hot Springs 104 

Mrs. J. M. Keller 112 

Rev. Mother M. Alphonsus Carton, of Little Rock 136 

Mrs. J. J. Sample, Daughter of Gen. D. C. Govan 144 

Mrs. C. R. Cockle, Daughter of Gen. J. F. Fagan ------ 148 

Mrs. Jefferson Davis and Miss Winnie Davis ------ 192 

Woman's Devotion 212 



Preface. 



The State Annual Reunion of the Arkansas United Confed- 
erate Veterans, held at Fort Smith, October 17-19, 1906 
appointed, through the commander, Gen. N. T. Roberts, a 
committee of five veterans, J. H. Berry, V. Y. Cook, Charles 
Coffin, Dan W. Jones and J. M. Lucey, to arrange for the co- 
operation of the United Confederate Veterans of Arkansas and 
Sons of Veterans with the general committee of the United 
Confederates of the South for the erection of at least one monu- 
ment in each of the Southern States to commemorate the 
heroism of the Southern women in' the Civil war period. 

STARTED FIVE YEARS AGO. 

This monument movement came into prominence five years 
ago, when the fact began to dawn upon the minds of the old 
veterans and sons of veterans that the women of the South had 
borne a very conspicuous part in the glorious achievements of 
the Southern soldiery, so much so that had it not been for their 
superb nobility of character in cheerfully bidding what was 
often a last farewell to their loved ones and in working away 
the beauty and tenderness of Southern rearing in country and 
town to support their lonely families, the war could not have 
been sustained for any considerable length of time. But when 
this fact did finally dawn ujwn the minds of the old veteran-- 
they resolved to attest their appreciation of the greatness of 
the Southern women, who excelled the historic Roman matron 
and Spartan mother, by gathering and publishing the reminis- 
cences of the work of the women of the South in the Civil war 
period and by erecting at least one monument in each Southern 
State to commemorate their heroism. 

Gen. C. Irvine Walker, Charleston, S. C, commander of the 
U. C. V. Department of the Army of Northern Virginia, was 
made chairman at the Louisville reunion, three years ago, of 



Preface ii. 

the general committee. This committee has succeeded in gather- 
ing and publishing in newspaper supplements the chronicles 
of the work of Southern women in several Southern States, 
notabl}' South Carolina. Virginia and Tennessee. This work 
will be pushed to completion in the remaining States of the 
South. 

Gen. Walker's committee have also accomplished consider- 
able work on the question of a monument to Southern women. 
It has been decided that the monument be of bronze. Designs 
were called for last year and at the meeting of the committee 
after the adjournment of tlie Richmond reunion of the present 
year a selection of a design was made. The committee are 
now selecting the artist Avho is to carry out their wishes and 
supervise the casting of the monuments. Within a short time 
the artist will be selected and the next step will be to estimate 
the cost of each monument for a State and to apportion it. The 
veterans and sons of veterans of each State will be asked to share 
State by State, in the expense incurred. It is impossible just 
now to estimate exactly what each State will have to pay as a 
pro rata for a monument. Perhaps five thousand dollars is 
approximate. Each monument will be an original under this 
plan and the uniformity throughout the South will be a strik- 
ing feature. Everywhere will be seen that face and figure of 
Southern beauty and power, looking down with inspiring love 
and tenderness upon the rising generations of the Southland. 

ARKANSAS COMMITTEE. 

Our Arkansas committee met in Little Rock last winter 
and organized for work along these lines. It was discovered 
that quite a large number of papers written by Southern ladies 
of the State. and full of interesting reministenses were in the 
hands of J. Kellogg, Little Rock, as the result of a previous 
effort in this direction. At the above meeting J. M. Lucey was 
made chairman and J. Kellogg was made honorary member of 
the board and elected secretary. The chairman was empowered 
to collect all accessible papers and to solicit new ones from the 
ladies of tlie State; all of which were to be carefully supervised 



Preface hi. 

by him and then published in a pamphlet form, rather than a 
newspaper supplement. It was. however, decided to publish the 
papers first in the Sunday edition of the Arkansas Gazette and 
after submission to their authors to ])rint them in a pamphlet 
of an edition of 3,000 copies. 

The Memorial Committee were able to report to the State 
Eeunion U. C. V... held October 4-5, this year, at Hot Springs, 
Ark., that the work of going over the old papers and collecting 
new ones was practically completed. All of the old papers, with 
possibly two or three exceptions, have appeared in the Sunday 
edition of the Arkansas Gazette. jSTone of the new series of 
pajiers have been given to the Gazette, as it was only recently 
tliat tlie final copy of the old series was used, and it is thought 
best to get out the pamphlet without further delay. The report 
of the Memorial Committee was unanimously approved by the 
Eeunion. and tlie Committee was made a permanent one. and 
authorized to publish three thousand copies of the pamphlet and 
to arrange a jjlan to canvass the principal cities of the State to 
raise five thousand dollars for the monument to the Confederate 
Women of Arkansas of the Civil War period. 

This volume is, therefore, published under the auspices 
of the United Confederate Veterans of Arkansas, as a tribute 
to the women of the South, and a slight acknowledgement of 
their many sucessful efforts to glorify the Confederate soldier. 
No effort has been made to give these papers a literary dress. 
They are given in the simple language and style in which they 
were orginally written. They will become a most desirable 
addition to the material that will some day be used to make 
up a satisfactory history of the mighty struggle of the North 
and South over forty years ago, as each paper contains some 
particular incident of historic value. 

To render our volume more complete and perhaps more 
attractive, several selections have been inserted which refer to 
subjects dear to every Confederate heart; History of the Origin 
of the U. C. v., of the U. S. C. V., and of the Daughters; of 
the Confederate Unifornrand Flag; of the Confederate Museum 
and the Memorial Association, and similar things ^War songs 
and poems which have become historic are given, and finally 
anecdotes of camp life are presented not merely to relieve the 



Preface iv. 

heavier reading but to bring for^vard a feature of Confederate 
life that liistorians covet. 

Few Confederate Veterans will read these pages with dry 
eyes. They will read of Sterling Price's body guard of eighty 
men appearing on the streets of Camden from their Missouri 
raid with sockless feet and almost frozen when the Southern 
ladies gave every man of them a pair of socks and some of 
them shoes and then worked day and night, Sunday and weekday, 
to make up the deficit for the boxes they were sending to 
their own loved ones on distant battlefields. They will read 
of tenderly raised Southern women working in the fields alone 
with negro servants to raise a simple crop, that was to be 
carried off by Federal raiders. 

The women who wove and spun the clothing of the Southern 
soldier and their own, who risked their lives in bearing 
important dispatches to Confederate generals, who spent days 
and nigiits at the cot of the soldier in the hospital and who have 
cared for the graves of the Confederate dead even to the extent 
of erecting countless memorial monuments and leaving their 
own heroism to be imnoticed, if not unknown, deserve to be com- 
memorated in the grandest records and finest monument that 
man's genius can devise. The old Confederate veterans of Arkan- 
sas would otherwise indeed be ungrateful to the noble women 
who stood by the Southern cause in war and, when all was lost 
but honor, received the broken-doA\T[i father, husband and 
brother, without a tear or anything but comfoi-ting word* and 
cheerful smiles. 

J. M. LUCEY. Chainiian. 
DAN W. JONES, 
CHAELES COFFIN", 
V. Y. COOK, 
J. H. BERRY, 
J. KELLOGG, Secretary. 
Committee of the Arkansas Division, U. C. V., on Memorial 
to the Women of the Confederacy. 

This book is published for the benefit of the fund to erect a 
monument to the women of the Confederacy in Arkansas. The 
price of the book is, paper bound, 50 cents; cloth bound, $1.00. If 
ordered by mail, 6 cents must be added for the paper bound copy 
and 12 cents for the cloth bound copy. Cash in full must accom- 
pany every order. Apply to or address, J. Kellogg, Secretary Mem. 
Com., 309 W. Second St., Little Rock, Ark. 



REMINISCENCES OF THE WAR BETWEEN THE 

STATES. 

By Mrs. Eugene R. Goodwin^ of Augusta. 

In April of 1861, there was the wildest excitement in Augusta, 
Ark., when the first company of mounted rifles was being 
formed. Manly hearts burning to go to the defence of their 
country, and yet yearning anxiously for the loved and defence- 
less ones they must leave behind them. Wives, mothers, sisters, 
and sweethearts struggling bravely to conceal their own bitter 
heartaches, that they might strengthen and cheer their dear ones, 
for the hard duties that lay before them. But there was neither 
time, nor opportunity for any sentimental indulgence of any of 
these feelings : the most strenuous activity was imperative. 

Women must be taught the use of fire-arms that they might 
be able to defend themselves and their homes. Their first awk- 
ward efforts proved the occasion of much grim mirth, while 
some soon became good marksmen. 

There was no government to suppl} clothing for the 
soldiers, so the merchants furnished material, and women 
gathered in numbers to cut and make the grey uniforms and 
knitting socks became the pastime and rest-work of busy fingers 
in all the odd minutes. 

But as we look back, all this seems but pleasure compared 
with what followed. Orders soon came for "all volunteers to 
report in Little Eock." Now, the romance is all gone, and the 
fearful realities are upon us. We must make them a flag, 
and it must be presented in due form. In the presence of an 
immense crowd, our gallant boys clothed in their grey uniforms 
and mounted on their war steeds were reined up in line before 
a stand from which a frail girl, trembling with emotion, after 
an address full of martial fervor, patriotism and confidence in 



II 



18 Confederate "Women of Arkansas 

the courage and heroism of the brave hearts before her, handed 
the flag to the standard bearer. 

Upon receiving it, he made a short chivalric reply and every 
hat ■went up and every throat hurrahed for "the courage of our 
women and the sacredness of our Cause.*' Then galloping from 
this portentous scene, all were soon engaged in preparations for 
the final parting on the morrow. 

As the boat upon which the troops were to embark steamed 
up to the wharf, friends and relatives crowded around our heroes 
and who shall tell of the anguish, that wrung those hearts 
in that last parting? The picture of that boat, as she rounded 
the bend in the river, the boys' caps and handkerchiefs waving, 
some singing and others shouting, every attitude giving express- 
sion to the depth of their emotion, still stands out in bold relief 
upon memory's tablet and refuses to be effaced by the occurences 
of more than forty years. 

I shall not open the pages of memory that tell of the 
bitterness that followed. There were no mails to bring tidings 
'from the loved ones, and harrowing rumors were continually 
reaching us of their sufferings and privations, so that we were 
forced in many ways to feel that the "horrors of war' were 
upon us. 

Tho' some distance from the seat of war, we were often 
subjected to visits from small bodies of troops, sent on some 
mission by one or other of the contending armies. 

The first rumor of tlie enemy's coming struck terror into 
every heart. We feared everything, but escaped, this time, with 
only the loss of any and everything they could eat, wear or 
carry off. 

On one occasion, when our Capt. Eutherford and his men 
had been giving the enemy considerable trouble, they sent a 
small body of troops to surprise and capture them. Coming 
up on the opposite bank of White River and finding no means 
of crossing over into the town, a number of the most reckless 
and daring among them doffed every article of clothing, swam 
the river and with shameless effrontery, paraded our streets in 



Eeminiscences of the War Between the States 19 

an absolutely nude state. Instantly every door and blind was 
closely shut; curtains drawn; and the whole town was as still 
as death. 

A negro man was hastily despatched to warn them not to 
approach too near any dwelling for the women of that town 
were well armed and well drilled in the use of firearms. The 
faithful negro adding in his own persuasive way "And I tell you 
gemmans, if you step your foot in one of dem yards, you won't 
neber hab no more use for does.' 

They gave full credit to this kindly hint and at once 
recrossed the river and we heard of them no more, and our hearts 
went up in a hymn of praise to our God for this special 
deliverance. 

Another trying time was when Curtis's army came thro' our 
town. My mother still had with her the negro man mentioned 
above (her carriage driver in slave times) to whom — by thi 
way, let me just here pay a well-deserved tribute. During all the 
years, of the war, he seemed to feel that he was duty bound to 
work for and protect his mistress and her family. He regularly 
brought to her all his earnings ; and was as loyal, in every way, 
as the truest and noblest son, or brother could have been. He 
was at once sent to the General's headquarters for "a guard" 
and with a request that he permit some worthy officer to board 
with us during his stay in our town. , He sent us quite a polished, 
pleasant gentleman, Capt. of an Indiana Company. 

This proved a boon to us, for he not only treated us beauti- 
fully, but saw that we and all we had, were carefully protected 
from depredations and indignities to which others were subjected. 
When the command moved on and left our town, there was a 
rumor that they had found us to be such fire-eating rebels that 
stragglers had been ordered to remain behind and burn the town 
that night. We had no men, but the women held a council and 
"vre decided to foim ourselves into a police force and patrol the 
town all night. This we did; walking our several beats as 
faithfully, if not as fearlesssly, as any city police. Wliether or 
not the rumor had been baseless, we never knew, but our town wai 
not burned. 



20 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

Once the dreaded cry "The federals are coming" caught a 
wounded confederate soldier "laying up for repairs" in my 
mother's home. What to do we knew not. There was no chance 
to get him out of town. We knew there were some in town who 
would inform on us; then, of course, would follow a thorough 
search of our home and premises. So, after a hurried consulta- 
tion my pale face and wasted form (being just out of a severe 
spell of sickness) suggested a way out of our dilemma. Earn- 
estly praying God's blessings on our plan, we decided to arrange 
one room as for a very sick person. We arranged a table filled 
with medicines and other sick room paraphernalia; stationed a 
nurse; darkened the room; and placed the wounded soldier 
between the mattress and feather bed; then put me to bed, 
arranging the feathers to conceal the unnatural bump in that bed. 

We tried to keep the whole house in a hush to awe them 
into not making the search if possible but they were not so easily 
turned aside. They bluntly stated "They had orders to search 
this house and they intended to search it." We could not even 
'prevail upon them to spare the sick room, tho' we entreated 
with tears (which were not in our plans.) They filed in, peered 
everywhere ; even under the patient's bed and punched, with their 
bayonets, every suspicious looking object, then quietly left the 
room; leaving me trembling with fear — my fears being mis- 
chievously aggravated by hearing much bemuffled Avhispers "You 
are smothering me to death" and many like remarks, coming 
from the hiding place of our wounded Eeb, ere my mother con- 
sidered it safe to let him out. 

But by God's blessing on our efforts, one more soldier was 
spared to fight to the end of the war and is now a wealthy and 
prominent citizen of Shreveport, Louisiana. 

Just one more incident and I will close. When the Fitz- 
hugh fight occurred the Yankees were still trying to capture or 
wipe out Capt. Eutherford's command. Having failed in all 
previous attempts, then sent a gunboat up from Helena with a 
force of about four hundred fighting men aboard. They landed 
at Augusta, sent out their troops, leaving the crew and a few offi- 
cers in charge of the boat. These officers entertained themselves 



Remixisences of the War Between the States 21 

during the day by calling on young ladies. Being in use as 
a female academy at that time, our house was especially attract- 
ive to them. They were very courteous and polite ; "hoped we 
would pardon them, but they were very anxious to make the 
acquaintance of some of the Southern girls." We didn't dare 
repulse them but discouraged their attentions by our manners and 
the assurance that we felt only bitterness towards their cause and 
their armies. They met all this with the most patient, forbear- 
ing politeness, telling us those feelings were very natural now^ 
but after a while we would feel differently. This so exasperated 
us that when they begged for music, we told them we knew only 
Southern war songs, and to their request, "Then sing them for 
us" we selected the bitterest we knew, throwing all the spirit into 
them that was then almost bursting our hearts. They not only 
listened very kindly, but seemed really to enjoy our "rebel"songs. 
But soon the fight was on. We could hear the firing and we 
very excitely and confidently told them: Now you will have to 
go, for our men will whip or capture all your troops."' They 
hooted at such a thought but very calmly and gallantly bade us 
goodbye and started for the boat, and before they reached the 
wharf, their men came flying in, hotly pursued (as they thought) 
by the victorious "rebels." And very soon their gunboat was 
steaming down stream. This was too good a chance, we just 
couldn't resist the temptation to sing, with wildest enthusiasm, 
"We'll hurl the Yankee crew from the land we love the best." 

Now it happened our house and Academy was not two 
hundred yards from the river, so we were in full view, and this 
volume of song, triumphantly welling up from ten or fifteen 
young ladies was more than the defeated Yankees could stand, 
so they turned loose their cannon on us. But the river was 
narrow and the banks were very high, at that point, so their 
balls only cut some of the highest tree tops. 

"Oh, she's not at all nice," said little Elsie; "she's always 
wishin' she was a boy." 

"Well," replied Mabel, "I wish I was too." 

"I know, but she wishes it out loud, so the boys can hear 
her." — Philadelphia Press. 



SIGEL'S RAIDERS BURN A FINE HOME. 

By Mrs. Homer F. Sloan, of Augusta. 

One of the hardest things to understand about war, especially 
by women, is the flagrant destruction of homes and neces- 
saries of life. General Franz Sigel was exiled from Germany 
because of his advocacy of popular government. He was given 
a high position in the Union army in order to gratify the 
German soldiers who had entered the army in large numbers. 
Such a man should be expected to have manly and generous 
sentiments. The following incident of his raid near Augusta 
shows how brutal he was : 

On a large plantation near Augusta, Ark., in 1863 was an 
old Southern home. There were 200 negro slaves contentedly 
working and the land was in a fine state of cultivation. But in 
the roomy comfortable old house which the blue-coats surrounded 
was only an old woman and her daughter. 

"Don't seem to be any men 'round?" questioned an officer, 

"All gone to fight the Yankees," answered the woman 
promptly. 

Then a soldier came up to the officer, saying, "There is only 
a small quantity of meat in the smoke house." When questioned 
as to where the rest of the meat was hidden, the woman refused 
to tell. Threatened with the burning of her home if she did not 
direct them to the place of concealment, she still refused, saying 
that over 200 people on the place were depending upon her for 
food. 

"But," said the officer, "what will you do? You can save 
your house by giving up the meat." 

"No," she replied, "I cannot let my people starve; as for 
the house, there are plenty of logs in the woods to build another 
one." 

A soldier led around a beautiful horse and at once the girl 
ran to it and caught the bridle, begging them not to take her 
pet. Fine old furniture was broken and thrown from the 



Sigel's Raiders Burn a Fine Home 23 

windows and doors; great feather beds and pillows were carried 
into the yard and ripped open with knives. But the woman 
sat under a tree placidly knitting — deaf alike to threats and 
destruction. 

"What are you knitting?" inquired one. 

"Socks for the Confederate soldiers." 

"How many pairs have you made?" 

"So many that I can rib them, turn the heel and toe them 
off in the dark." 

"How many have you on hand ?" 

"""Tot a pair; sent them away yesterday." 

The negroes denied knowing anything about where the 
meat was hidden, the girl continued pleading to keep her horse, 
the old woman knitted in silence. Finally the order to start 
the fire was given. Then the officer said each of them might 
have one thmg saved for them out of the house. The mother 
said to give her her sewing machine, and it was set near her; 
the girl chose her piano and it was brought out; then the 
torch did the work. The girl was allowed to lead her horse as 
she went to stand beside her mother. Thus the enemy left them 
to see the destruction of their home, the old woman knitting, 
knitting, the young woman standing quiet, one arm thrown over 
her horse's neck — a picture of war's cruelty, and illustration of 
woman's sacrifice and fortitude. 



A SAFE HIDING PLACE. 

This story was told the writer by the prominent actor there- 
of, but a feeling of delicacy withholds the name. 

Miss Kitty (for thus we shall call her), her brother and 
sweetheart were having a gay time in the parlor, fun and laugh- 
ter running high, when suddenly the house was surrounded by 
the Yankees. The lover instantly disappeared up the chim- 
ney. But the brother, where was he to go? There was not a 
moment to lose. Beckoning him. Miss Kitty stood and pointed 
to her voluminous hoop skirts. The young man comprehended, 
and in a second was in refuge. And when the soldiers entered 
the room, the young woman was standing in an apparent care- 
less attitude combing her hair. 



PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS OF 1863. 

By Mrs. Emily S. Reed, of Batesville. 

After a lapse of more than forty years, events that happened 
so long ago must have been of a very startling nature to retain 
still a vivid place in memorj^. It has been said, that there 
are three things that leave ineffaceable impressions, excessive 
joy, grief and fright; and the last certainly did for awhile 
prevail over all other feelings on the occasion I now recall. 

The winter of eighteen hundred and sixty-three was unus- 
ually severe at Batesville, Ark., and people were in no condition 
to face the hardships and privations that steadily grew worse, 
as first one army and then the other held this country. They 
consumed what little was raised on the farms by women and 
small boys, (all able-bodied men being in the -army), and the 
question of daily rations for the family was growing to be a 
very serious one. I have knoT\Ti girls to ride horseback ten 
and often twenty miles to get a peck of meal and a few pounds 
of flour, and they considered themselves lucky indeed to find a 
little dried fruit. Early in February, I forget the exact date, 
the weather grew much colder, and ended in a heavy snow, 
which added greatly to the discomfort already prevailing. 

GERMAN FEDERAL RAIDERS SUDDENLY APPEAR. 

One of my brothers was at home sick in bed. One even- 
ing, mother, my younger brothers and myself were in the sit- 
ting room with him, when mother asked me to go out in the 
dining room and get a glass of water to mix some medicine. 
To reach the dining room, I had to go down two steps on the 
back porch on which both it and the Idtehen opened. I went 
through the door of the former, got the glass and water, and 
turned to go back when happening to glance toward the window, 
I saw what literally paralyzed me with fright, and instant death 
seemed before me, for there 'at the window were crowded a lot 
of hideous, grinning "^feds," jabbering in Dutch and pointing at 



Personal Eecollections of 1863 25 

me. I was simply scared silly, but had sense enough to run for 
my life, and burst into the sitting room white as a ghost, with 
eyes so full of horror, that mother came flying to me, saying, 
"Em, what's the matter?'' Just as I gasped out. "Mother, the 
yard is full of 'feds' !" in they poured, back door and front 
door, crowding and jabbering some orders in Dutch, which, of 
course, none of us understood, at which they were getting very 
angry with us, until one officer, the first American we had 
seen, pus^.ed his way in and ordered mother to get supper for 
fifty men. She calmly (while I wondered how she could talk 
at all), replied, that there wasn't enough in the whole neigh- 
borhood to feed that many. He made an angry reply and told 
his men to help themselves, which they lost no time in doing. 

DRIED APPLES BUSTING 'fEDS' 

First, they tied their horses all over the yard to a lot of 
young fruit trees, then broke open the store room, etc., soon 
demolishing what was on hand. I remember noticing (after 
I had gotten partly over my scare) a few big Dutch fellows, 
ravenously "getting away" with a bag of dried apples, which 
had quite recently been sent to motlier from the country, and 
for which she had exchanged salt, and the sight recalled a con- 
versation I once heard between two little boys on the dried apple 
question. One boy had a pocket full of this fruit and the 
other wanted " a divide," which being refused, he said, "My 
ma says dried apples raw will swell up and bust you !" which I 
fervently hoped might be realized in the preent instance. 

waking's command of raiders. 
They took possession of anything they saw, and carried 
things their own way, we meanwhile being all crowded together 
in the sitting room, glad to know we were still alive. At 
twelve o'clock, when Colonel Waring and staff arrived, he took 
our parlor for headquarters, and ordered those Dutch around, like 
so many dogs, — "begging a dog's pardon !" x\fter his arrival 
matters did not look so "skeery," for this officer, though a 
"Fed," was a gentleman in manner, and was very profuse in his 
apologies to mother, — said "she should be amply remunerated 



26 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

for any and all damages she had sustained, to which he would 
attend personally, as he was now in command of this section/' 
(which 'tis needless to say was all "bosh,") as his stay was brief, 
though long enough to leave a heavy mark wherever that Dutch 
gang raided Batesville that night. Among other things, I think, 
they found a large quantity of sugar in the basement of the 
court house, belonging to Geo. Case, which they wantonly 
destroyed. 

That was truly a night of terror in Batesville, and even at 
this late day a sort of "chill" runs over me when I think of 
those awful 'Feds' at the window, when I realized for the first 
time, what it meant "to be scared silly." 

Towards day-break, the whole command moved swiftly 
north, and a few hours later, Gen. Shelby crossed the river with 
about three thousand men, and followed them a short distance. 

It seems this command was reported to be the advance 
guard of a large force of Federals coming here, but was in 
reality about five hundred Dutch, known as 'taring's Com- 
mand," on one of their notorious raids through southern Mis- 
souri and north Arkansas. 



SHE KNEW HER BOYS. 

During the war between the States a rumor of "battle at 
Seven Pines" reached a remote part of Virginia, but as yet 
there were no details. A mother had two sons — John and James 
— in the same company, and anxiety found expression in the 
oft repeated lament: "Poor John, I know, I know he's killed 
or wounded." 

The husband and father at last became annoyed at the re- 
peated mention of John to the exclusion of James, and ex- 
claimed : 

"What about James ? You love him equally with John, Why 
don't you think of him ?" 

The mother replied: "My poor John! James is all right, 
husband, for there are seven trees there, and I know that James 
is behind one of them." 



PRIVATIONS OF A SOLDIER'S WIDOW. 

By Mrs. M. M. Hendrix, of Big Fork. 

My husb nd Benjamin Franklin Hendrix entered the 
Southern army in the beginning of the war, joining Captain 
Edwin's company, Fourth Arkansas infantry, in June, 1861. 
He was killed in battle December 15, 1863, leaving me with 
four little children, to live the hard life of many a Confederate 
widow. My oldest child, George Washington, was seven years 
old ; the next, Samuel Enochs was five ; the third was Benjamin 
Franklin, three years old, and the youngest. Sarah Elizabeth, 
was only ten months old. 

I felt all these things the more because I was an adopted 
citizen of Arkansas. My native home was in Pickens county, 
South Carolina, where I was born October 17, 1832. My par- 
ents moved to Cherokee county, Ga., when I was about one year 
old. At the age of 12, I came with my parents to Montgomery 
county, Arkansas, and September 4, 1852, married Benjamin 
F. Hendrix, who was the same age as myself, 22 years. 

FEDERAL RAIDERS TOOK EVERYTHING. 

With four little ones to provide for, I found life a hard 
problem. Many times when night came and I lay down, I 
could not sleep on account of my destitute condition, and being 
forced to see my children suffer from cold and hunger without 
power or prospect of helping them. I could have managed to 
live fairly well, as I could work in the field and chop wood and 
I had some provisions laid by and the house was comfortably 
furnished, but federal soldiers came and robbed me of every- 
thing, not leaving a mouthful at times for myself and little 
ones. 

They were frequently brutal and once when I seemed slow 
about cooking something for them, they began cursing and 
pointed a gun at me, so that I was terribly frightened. But 
God was good to me in keeping me in a Christian spirit, and I 



28 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

succeeded in raising all my children. My son, G. W. Hendrix, 
lives at Black Springs, Ark.; Samuel E. Hendrix, lives at 
intimatliule, Ark.; B. F. Hendrix lives at Maxwell, I. T., 
and my daughter, Sarah Elizabeth, lives at Big Fork, Ark., and 
is happily married to Mr. Liles. 



A STORY OF THE LEES. 

The visit of Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, says the Louisville Courier- 
Journal, has started a story which he told on himself several 
years ago, and which is a good illustration of the love the 
Confederate soldiers bore toward Gen. Eobert E. Lee. As it is 
well known. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee was at the head of the cavalry, 
and these were much envied by the infantrymen, who had to 
walk through the mud and dust. 

After General Eobert E. Lee had surrendered, Gen. Fitz- 
hugh Lee rode away from Appomattox. While riding through a 
lane he met an old North Carolina soldier. 

"Ho, there," cried General Lee, "where are you going?" 

"I've been off on a furlough and am now going back to join 
Gen. Bob Lee," replied the soldier. 

"You needn't go back, but can throw your gun away and 
return liome, for Lee's surrendered." 

"Lee's surrendered ?" 

"That's what I said," said General Jjee. 

"It must have been that damned Fitz Lee, tlien. Rob Lee 
would never surrender," and the old soldier put on a look of 
contempt and walked on. 



BRAVERY OF MISS LINNIE HUTCHINSON. 

By Maj. W. F. Forhes, of BrinMey. 

There is one sweet Southern girl, a cousin of mine, who has 
long since passed to her reward, of whom I feel it a duty to 
speak, Miss Linnie Hutchison. Her work did not pertain much 
to Arkansas, but she was well known to H. C. Tipton, former 
state treasurer, and others. 

WHEN THE YANKEES TOOK MEJIPHIS. 

The first Confederate company of Horn Lake, Miss., where 
we lived, was made up March 1, 1861, and we were ordered to 
Pensacola, Fla. When the Yankees took ]\Iemphis my uncle's 
fine home and farm became a regular raiding ground for them. 
My uncle was 75 years old and Miss Linnie quite a girl. For 24 
miles from Memphis to Hernando the Federals burned every- 
thing combustible and not a cow. horse, hog or chicken was left. 
They were three years in this work of devastation and all this 
time Linnie Hutchinson was subjected to every possible insult 
and injury. 

ROUTED FIFTY YANKS. 

The house was burned to the ground and the old man and 
young girl took up their abode in a negro cabin. Miss Linnie 
had practiced much with pistol and gun, as the necessity of being 
able to defend herself dawned upon her young mind. When the 
Feds would come into her yard, she stood, pistol in hand, ready 
for anything. One day a company of fifty entered the yard and 
began shooting every chicken in sight. Standing upon the cabin 
porch and raising her gun, she declared that she would shoot the 
man that fired the next shot at her chickens. They vacated the 
yard without further ado. She saved one old horse, old Mike, the 
buggy horse, but only after a fierce struggle in which several sol- 
diers threw her round and round as she clung to the bridle until 
blood gushed from her wrists. 



30 Confederate Women of Akkansas 

Her only brother, James Hutchinson, was killed at the battle 
of Franklin, Tenn., falling with Gen. Pat Cleburne. 

brave, but just and tender. 
A neighbor boy. Willie White, was a Union man. Some 
raiding Federals thought he was a bushwhacker and shot him 
thirteen times until death came to his relief. That brave South- 
ern girl, Confederate to the core of her heart, knowing that Billie 
Brown was an honest man, went down on her knees to beg his 
life from his cruel captors. 

FAITHFUL old NEGROES. 

There were twenty-five negroes on the Hutchinson plantc* 
tion during the war and no white people except an old man and 
a weak young woman. Nothing went wrong. The negroes were 
faithful. They helped on all occasions to hide things and never 
told the Yankees. They made a living during the four years of 
the war for white and black. Old Aunt Sasa was a constant 
guard over Miss Linhie, frequently remaining up all night when 
danger was anticipated. 



A HEROINE OF CHICKAMAUGA. 

During the preliminary manoeuvers which preceded the 
battle of Chickamauga, Manigault's brigade was in position near 
a small farm, the humble log cabin of which marked the poverty 
of the owner, but close to this was a patch of luscious sorghum 
oane, into which the boys found their way and commenced to 
forage. As they were in the midst of the cane breaking it and 
sucking the juicy portions, two newcomers appeared on the 
scene. Colonel Sawyer, of the Twenty-fourth Alabama regiment, 
and the owner. The colonel promptly ordered the men out, but 
the old woman interfered; her dress and appearance indicated 
how dependent she was upon that little patch for part of her 
support, but her heart was warm for the cause. "Colonel," she 
said, "that's my sorghum; I raised it, but these are my boys; 
let them have all thoy want. Pitch in boys and help yourselves." 



SKETCH OF MRS. LUTETIA M. HOWELLS, OF 
CLARKSVILLE. 

By her daughter, Mrs. Sallie E. Jordan, of C'larksville. 

It is with the greatest reluctance that I write this sketch of 
my mother's experience during the Civil war. If those who have 
urged me so much and so often to write, knew what I have suff- 
ered in putting those sad particulars on paper, they would have 
said, "let them alone." Those who have undertaken to gather 
reminiscences of this kind have a hard task on their hands as one- 
thousandth part of what the women of the South .suffered during 
the war can never be told. It i= a duty, however, that the authors 
of these reminiscences should be aided in every possible way, so 
that valuable materials of history may not be lost. This is why I 
send my crude statements, though it is breaking my heart to do 
so. 

At the time of the burning of my mother and aunt, my 
father, S. J. Howell, had gone to Texas with our servants. My 
brother, Captain J. B. Howell, was ordinance officer of General 
James F. Fagan. Our home was in a little town on the Arkansas 
river, called Pittsburg, about nine miles from Clarksville. The 
Federal officer in command of Clarksville at the time was Col. 
Waugh. He had never been known to do a kind act for any 
citizen until my mother's awful treatment happened, when he 
began to act as a human being. One Federal officer called and 
said to me : "If my wife or mother had been treated as yours, I 
would live only to kill Federals and when I came to die, I would 
regret that I could not live longer to kill more." 

The following are the main particulars: On the night of 
the 20th of February, 1864, five or six Federal soldiers came and 
demanded money of mother, saying, "I know you have it, every 
one knows that your husband has plenty of money." When 
she refused to give them money, they stripped the right foot and 
leg and thrust it into a bed of red hot coals lying in a large open 
fireplace. When they took it out they asked her if she would 



32 Confederate Women op Arkansas 

tell them where the money was, and when she said no, they put 
it back and told her they would burn her to death if she did not 
tell. The flesh was cooked until it fell off from the knee to the 
toe. They then brought in my widowed aunt, Mrs. John W. 
Willis, who was living with my mother. They had been keeping 
her outside on the lawn, and had previously told her that my 
mother had sent her word to tell them where the money was. as 
they were burning her to death. She said she did not believe 
them and refused. They then took my mother from the fire and 
put my aunt in, and burned her in the same way, but not quite 
so severely. At last when the found they were of the material 
from which heroines are made and Spartan mothers reared, they 
released them and going to the servants quarters, they locked 
them in and told them if they came out before sun up, their heads 
would be shot off. My poor mother in some way found the lin- 
seed oil and together she and my aunt dressed their burns. Next 
morning the three negro women in great fear came to them and 
did what they could for them. Later on these women took the 
week's laundry and went across the hill, a quarter of a mile from 
the house, where there was a fine spring, to do the washing; the 
hill hid this house from their view. Later on one of the women 
started back to see if there was anything needed. When she 
reached the top of the hill, she saw the flames bursting out from 
the roof. When mother and aunt learned that the house was on 
fire, they in some mysterious way with those terribly burned 
limbs, crawled to the wood pile, where they lay and watched the 
destruction of a fine old Southern home (the home where brother 
John and I were reared). When the building was falling into 
ashes some Federal officers came with ambulances to fill them 
with furnishings from this house. When they saw the sad plight 
of my loved ones, they were compelled to take them to Clarks- 
ville, where they could receive medical attention. I must say 
Drs. Root and Adams of Kansas, in whose charge they were 
placed, were exceedingly kind to them. A week after this 
terrible affair Capt, Abbot, commanding a U. S. transport, (but 
a Southern sympathizer), came down from Clarksville and sent 
me word, saying, that he had not the courage to bring the mes- 



Sketch of j\1rs. Lutetia M. Howells 33 

sage in person. Capt. Abbot held the transport until I could 
get ready to return with him. I left my four fatherless chil- 
dren, (baby being quite ill), with my dear friend, Mrs. Adams, 
widow of ex-GrOvernor Samuel Adams, step-mother of Capt. 
John D. Adams, and mother of Gen. Jas. F. Fagan. Mrs. 
Adams was afterwards with me in Little Eock, having been 
turned out of her home by Federal officers. It took the transport 
three days to reach Spadra Bluff, the nearest point by river to 
Clarksville. I was told here that mother was dying and that her 
limb had been amputated, all of which was almost unbearable 
for me, and the suffering so changed me that some of my loved 
ones did not recognize me. I must pass over the meeting with 
my mother ; I can not even at this late day write of it. I staid 
until my mother could be moved to Spadra Bluff by ambulance, 
and by transport to my home in Little Rock. The news soon 
spread that we had arrived. The first to reach the boat was our 
old friend. Dr. R. L. Dodge, He dropped on his knees beside 
mother's bed and wept aloud. Mother did not die just at this 
time, but lingered two years. Poor, dear mother, how she suff- 
ered ! 'T. forgive them for the pain and poverty they have caused 
me," were her words. They destroyed what they could not carry 
away, shooting large numbers of cattle, hogs, etc. 

Maj. jSTewsome (a Federal), told me at Spadra, that when 
mother's house was on fire, he counted fourteen others burning 
at the same time, and he knew that orders for the fires had been 
sent out from headquarters. 



SHORT RATIONS. 

A half famished fellow in the Southern States, tells of a 
baker (whose loaves had been growing small by degrees and beau- 
tifully less) who when going his rounds to serve his customers, 
stopped at the door of one of them, and knocked, when the lady 
within exclaimed : "Who's there ?" and was answered : "The bak- 
er." "What do you want?" "To leave your bread." "Well, you 
needn't make such a fuss about it — put it through the keyhole !" 



HEROIC DEEDS OF SOUTHERN WOMEN. 

By Mrs. K. D. Goodbar, of Charleston. 

Mrs. Catherine Haynes, whose home is near Charleston, 
Arkansas, is one of the oldest 'and most interesting of the few 
remaining women in that section who worked, suffered and 
endured, for the "Lost Cause." 

She is living out her sunset years in the same old family 
homestead, which was once the scene of so much stirring adven- 
ture, and lier recollections of those trying days are still fresh and 
unobscured, though Time is laying his hand heavily now upon 
her silvered locks. 

Mrs. Haynes and her two daughters, Miss Lizzie and Miss 
Sarah Jane, are known to have huried, or assisted in burying, at 
least six, perhaps more of our fallen heroes, which was certainly 
no mean service. She has often been heard to relate the follow- 
ing incident : 

Six men belonging to Col. Mcintosh's regiment were 
quietly eating breakfast in one of three small cottages, built 
close to the Haynes' homestead. Mrs. Tobb, a Union woman, 
Mrs. Roberts, and Mrs. Knott, a widow, were the occupants of 
the houses. The men were totally unsuspicious of any danger, 
but were suddenly attacked by a small party, and three of them 
were shot down in Mrs. Eoberts' yard, while the others escaped. 
The names of the three soldiers killed were : Perkins, Tom 
Jones, and Milton Hayes, all of them closely related to men 
widely known in this section of the State. Mrs. Tobb ran alone 
all the way to the Haynes' home to tell the awful news, and to 
get assistance in caring for the bodies. There was not a man 
left on the Haynes' place so Miss Lizzie and Miss Sarah Jane 
accompanied Mrs. Tobb to the scene of the tragedy, determined 
that not one of our brave boys should lack a decent burial so 
long as there were tender, pitying hands to perform the last sad 
duties. 

Nixon's graveyard was a full half-mile distant, but one of 



Heroic Deeds of Southern Women 35 

them knew of an empty grave which had been dug for the body 
of a Captain Bean who had been carried back home to Roseville, 
and buried there instead. There was one available vehicle. It 
was a small cart, roughly constructed, and mounted upon two 
old wagon wheels. To this was harnessed the only team a brace 
of young steers. With Mrs. Knott driving and two of the other 
women walking behind to hold the lifeless bodies on the shaky 
cart, from which they were in imminent danger of falling, the 
pathetic little procession wended its way to the graveyard. With 
their own hands they laid the three bodies, uncoffined, in the 
same grave, and with an old shovel and a rusty spade, these faith- 
ful and heroic women put the clods of "earth to earth and ashes 
to ashes," upon the sacred dead. 

Finally worn out with physical exertion and mental emo- 
tion, they turned wearily liomeward. It was nearing the close 
of day when 'at last they arrived, and bright stars, just peep- 
ing out from the grey twilight, were soon to shed their cold 
unfeeling radiance upon the dark tragedies of human life. 



"DON'T LET THE OLD MAN BLEED ON THE 
BISCUITS." 

Four or five members of Company H, Fifth Mississippi, 
while l}dng in the trenches around Atlanta in 1864, had a brief 
respite one morning from the annoying shot and shell. We had 
got a large lot of biscuits, and expected to have a fine time of it 
in enjoying the unusual banquet. But human hopes often de- 
ceive us. While we were sitting a la l\irk on a blanket, pitching 
into the biscuits, and old Tommie R — , a long, lea.n specimen, of 
Eebeldom, was stretching out his bony arms for the biggest one 
in the pile, a minnie ball took off a piece of his head as big as 
a five-dollar Confederate note, and pitched him over upon our 
stock of biscuits. George H — jerked at him and cried out: 
"Damn it, boys, dont let the old man bleed on the biscuts." 

F. J. MASON. 



MRS. RICHARD LEDBETTER. 

By Mrs. K. D. Guodhar, of Charleston. 

Mrs, Richard Ledbetter is now past seventy years of age. 
She is a ruddy-cheeked, sunny-natured old lady, whose perfect 
health is a fair sample of the blessings vouchsafed to those who 
take a cheery view of life under 'any and all circumstances. She 
is always to be met with at the re-union of Confederate soldiers 
which occurs annually on or about August 2, near Charleston, 
Arkansas, which is a notable gathering, sometimes bringing as 
many as ten thousand people together. Her liveliest memories 
cluster about the circumstances of a long and wearying journey, 
which she and a Mrs. Graham made together, during the trou- 
blous war times. They rode horseback, entirely without other 
escort, from a point in Sevier county to Montgomery county, 
Arkansas, and back again, a total distance of about three hun- 
dred miles. Mrs. Graham went for the purpose of nursing a 
wounded husband, but Private Graliam had stepped his last to 
the drumbeat, and his widow was left only the mournful conso- 
lation of a visit to his grave. 

Young Mrs. Ledbetter left Mrs. Graham at this point and 
went on alone, ten miles further, to visit her parents, after 
which they retraced together the long and dangerous journey. 

Both going and coming there seemed an ample opportunity 
for undesirable adventures, but fortunately they met none of the 
enemy, and the well-known, undeviating hospitality of the 
South, afforded them all the shelter and assistance needed. Once 
only did native intuition, or a special providence, seem to inter- 
vene in their behalf when they were led to make a wide detour 
from the main road, and upon rejoining the highway, were told 
of a large body of Federals, about 500 in number, having passed 
in the interim. They thus missed an encounter which would 
have been unpleasant and detaining, to say the least. 



UNPRINTED ARKANSAS HISTORY. 

By Mrs. L. J. Carmach, of Charleston. 

Mrs. Carmack remembers the funerals of Grenerals Styne 
and McCullough. When a small child, she watched the proces- 
sions march past her father's house in Fort Smith, en route for 
the National Cemetery. 

One of the three soldiers, whom three young ladies buried, 
near Charleston, was shot down in Mrs. Roberts' yard. Mrs. 
Lizzie Haynes was one of these young ladies. They could not 
procure coffins for the soldiers, but reverently buried them as 
best they could, with their own hands. Wlien the sad task was 
done and they turned homeward, which was three miles distant, 
the stars were beginning to shine. 

Once old Mrs. Susan Richardson and "Grandma" Gunter 
drove some yearlings hitched to a wagon from Charleston to 
Fort Smith for provisions. On the way home some of the 
yearlings became exhausted and the women took turns helping 
draw the wagon. 

The ladies met at the Methodist church in Fort Smith, and 
made clothes, shirts mostly, for the soldiers. A Mrs. Beard cut 
the clothes, and let Mrs. Carmack and many other little school- 
girls make little oilcloth haversacks for the soldiers. 

Fort Smith depended on Federal wagon trains for supplies. 
Most people, especially through the country, spun and wove their 
cloth. 



BRAVE AND FEARLESS TO THE END. 

Miss Pussy Whitty, of Missouri, a plucky and fearless girl 
of 19, did many acts of daring to decoy the Federals into the 
hands of her father's company. She went many nights in rain 
and snow to pilot small bands of Southern patriots and often 
carried baskets of provisions to the brush to feed the Confed- 
erates while recruiting in her State. In the summer of 1863 
she rode sixty miles in the night to carry news to the intrepid 
Quantrell. 



REMINISCENCES OF MRS. VIRGINIA CLEAVER. 

By Mrs. Virginia C. Cleaver, of Camden. 

In the fall of 1861, my husband, Capt. W. H. Cleaver, 
raised a company of cavalry in Homer, Angelina county, Tex, He 
was in Riley's regiment, Sibley's l>rigade. and went from Homer 
to San Antonio, and from there he went on that ill-fated expe- 
dition to New Mexico. He never returned from New Mexico. 
For many long years of anxiety and suspense — many long years 
of alternate hope and doubt — I watchel for his return and list- 
ened for some tidings of him, but it was all in vain. I heard 
he was killed by Mexicans, July 1, 1862, while crossing the Rio 
Grande. His horse was shot from under him and fell. He 
fought bravely for his life, standing in the river, until he fell 
to rise no more. 

After my husband's departure from Homer I remained a 
week or so in Texas, and then returned by private conveyance 
to my old home in Arkansas, where lived my widowed mother, 
one sister and two little brothers. My two older brothers joined 
the army in the beginning of the war, and the third brother, a 
mere boy, went a little later. My mother, Mrs. Newport Bragg, 
lived four miles west of Camden, and as soldiers belonging to 
both the Confederate and Federal armies were stationed in Cam- 
den at different times during the war, we were in the lines of first 
one army and then the other. When our boys were in possession 
of Camden it was a gay town, filled with officers, their wives and 
daughters. So many brave and gallant soldiers with their gray 
uniforms, the bands playing "Dixie," and "The Bonny Blue 
Flag," and our loved flag displayed all over the town. Cens. 
Price and Marmaduke were here. Shelby and his brigade, and 
many others that I cannot now recall. 

We suffered many hardships and privations, but it was 
all done very cheerfully. Provisions were very scarce, and it 
was hard to feed our families and our servants, but we always 



Reminiscences of Mrs. Virginia Cleaver 39 

had enough to give to a Confederate soldier. No one who ''wore 
the gray" was ever sent away hungry from my mother's door. 

WHEN CLOTHING WAS SCARCE. 

Clothing was very scarce. A calico dress was a luxury, 
costing more than a silk one does now, and, like all Southern 
ladies, we were proud of our homespun dresses. Our hats were 
made of the palmetto that grows in the swamps. It was cut 
down, boiled and then bleached in the sun until almost snow 
white. It was split fine and braided and sewed into a hat. The 
girls grew very expert in braiding palmetto and the hats were 
very beautiful. Our shoes we had to make ourselves of various 
kinds of cloth, most often of gray jeans. We made the uppers, 
and then had them soled by a shoemaker. We made caps for 
our soldier boys of grey Jeans, and I have made many a pair 
of gauntlet gloves of dressed fawn silk. I couldn't weave, but 
my mother had learned to weave when a girl, and she wove my 
sister and myself some beautiful homespun dresses. She had all 
the cotton cloth for our servants woven on our farm by a woman 
belonging to us, and there were several persons in the neighbor- 
hood who wove the woolen cloth we needed. 

We had no coffee (real coffe. I mean), so had to use various 
substitutes, such as sweet potatoes, cut, dried and then parched, 
burnt molasses, parched meaF and rye, etc. Our soldiers, who 
were camped near us for some time, were so good to my mother, 
who missed her coffee more than the rest of us, that they often 
saved their entire rations of coffee instead of drinking it them- 
selves and brought it to my mother. Sometimes there would be 
hardly a teacup of it, tied up in the comer of a much soiled 
handkerchief, but it was coffee, and we were glad to get it ; and 
after washing it well before roasting it. we enjoyed it very much. 

Drugs were very scarce, and we learned to depend on home 
remedies. For instance, for chills we used tea made of willow 
bark fodder. A teaspoonful of cornmeal in a little water was 
taken at intervals, like we do quinine, and strange to say, that 
often kept off the chill. We learned to do without many things 
that now are a necessity, and it was cheerfully done, though 
sometimes the flesh would grow weary and sigh for the "flesh- 



40 Confederate Women of Aekansas 

pots of Egypt." There was no sacrifice too great to make for 
our country and our boys in gray. 

CLASH OF PICKETS AT CAMDEN. 

In '64, when Steel's army was in Camden, there was a picket 
fight in our yard. Our pickets were stationed a mile east of us, 
and had a fight with a detachment of Steele's army. Our pick- 
ets fell back into our back yard and took refuge behind the 
house, outbuildings and large trees. My mother and myself got 
behind a stack chimney in the dining room for safety, and my 
sister and sister-in-law, who lived with us, hid in a closet to keep 
from being hit by balls. A ball did come through a window in 
the dining room and went into the wall about eight feet from 
where my mother and I were standing. 

battle's cherokees in war paint. 

Our main army was camped a mile back on the "Two 
Bayou," and our pickets fell back there. Col. Battle with his 
regiment of Indians (mostly Cherokees), belonging to Maxe/s 
brigade, came up as quickly as possible, coming through our 
back yard, and the Yankees seeing them and thinking our main 
army was behind them, left and were soon at Camden. One of 
them told me they came out with orders to burn our dwelling, 
as they had heard of it in Little Rock as being "a regular Secesh 
harbor," The Indians had on their war paint, and heads decked 
with peacock feathers. 

While they were camped at the "Two Bayous," the Indians 
frequently came to our house for something to eat, and enjoyed 
the lye hominy and sassafras tea that we had to give them. After 
eating a plate piled up with the hominy, they would pass the 
plates back, saying *^oad up, load up," and we did "load up" 
in a hurry, for we were afraid of them. Hominy 'among Indians 
is called Tom Fuller and is a favorite Indian dish. 

The feathers they had came out of our peacock fly brush. 
An Indian saw it one day, and demanded a feather. Of course 
he got it. Then another came and still another with the same 
demand and bo on until there was not one left. Perhaps some 
of the younger generation do not know what a fly brush is. 



Eeminiscences of Mrs. Vieignia Cleaver 41 

Every Southern household had a brush made of the beautiful 
iridescent feathers of the peafowl and at meal times in warm 
weather, a little darky kept the flies off by gently waving it to 
and fro over the table. 

All of our valuables were hidden out from the house and, 
one of our servants, my mother's foreman, assisted in concealing 
tKem. A Confederate captain said to my mother one day, 
"]V^adam, you had better send that old man back where your other 
servants are, for if the Yamkees come he will surely betray your 
confdence." She had so much faith in him, that ^she called 
him 10 her and said, "Billy, would you betray the hiding places 
of my valuables to the Yankees if they come ?" 

He replied, "Missus, I don't know, I will have to pray over 
that, before I can tell you," so he was sent down on Eed river 
where the other darkies were. 

We had all of our meat hidden out in the woods in a large 
pen, and the meat was covered with com, so we would not be 
left entirely without provisions if the Yankees came, and we 
flattered ourselves that is was so securely hidden, no one could 
ever find the pen. One day three Yankees rode up from the 
direction of the hidden meat and corn. One of them remained 
at the gate holding the horses and two came in and asked my 
mother if that was her provisions hidden in the woods. She 
thinking they were only trying to find out if she had anything 
concealed, replied, "no," then with an aggravated, tantalizing 
look one said, "Madam, if it is not yours we will send out and 
get it tomorrow," she said, "all right," and at the same time her 
face turned scarlet and the man said, "Ah, madam, your face 
betrays you; you are not accustomed to telling untruths," but 
they did not send for it, as the woods were filled with our sol- 
diers, and they were afrad. 

TRAGEDY OF THE TROUSERS. 

One day when Steele's army was in Camden and our 
pickets were at our house, there was a poor sick soldier in our 
bam who sent a friend with a piece of cloth alike on both sides 
to ask the ladies to make him a pair of trousers. My mother cut 
them and my sister-in-law and I made them, every stitch being 



42 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

taken with our fingers. He was in a great hurry for them, as he 
was not presentable, and frequently sent his friend in to hurry 
us up. Sister J — took one leg and I the other to make. Finally, 
they were done except putting together, when we found to our 
dismay they were both made for the same leg. I was not so neat 
with my needle as my sister, so my part of the work had to be 
taken out and made over. 

When our men were engaged in battle with Steele's army at 
Porson Springs we could hear the roar of cannon and small arms 
and see the smoke, as Porson Springs was not more than seven 
or eight miles distant. After the battle of Prairie d' Anne, 
Steele's army came to Camden ; it was the 15th of April, '64, a 
bright, beautiful day, and we could hear the rumble of their 
wagons, twelve hundred in number, for miles. 

After many privations and sorrows, the war closed, and our 
boys all came home safely. We were without a dollar, our 
negroes were freed, our horses and mules had either been 
"pressed" or confiscated. We had no hogs, no poultry except one 
old turkey hen that had stolen a nest in the woods and so 
escaped. A Confederate soldier gave us a poor, old mule, before 
the surrender and for safety we had it tied to a tree in the back 
yard, but lightning struck the tree one day and killed it, so then 
we were, like so many of our Southern people, with only our 
land left. But our boys were young and hopeful, and took up 
the burden of life anew, and have succeeded in making a living. 



FATHER MURPHY AND GENERAL BUTLER. 

When G-eneral Butler was in command at New Orleans, 
during "the war," he was informed that Father M*urphy 
had said he would even refuse to hold funeral services 
for his soldiers. General Butler sent for him in haste, and 
began roundly scolding him for expressing such un-Christian 
and rebellious sentiments. "General," the priest answered, 
"you have been misinformed. Nothing wpuld afford me greater 
pleasure than to perform the funeral service over you and all 
your soldiers," 



WORK OF CAMDEN WOMEN. 

By Mrs. G. N. Stinson, of Camden. 

Maj. Joseph Graham and his charming family were well- 
known in Camden in the times before the war as leaders in soci- 
ety. Their wealth, education and prominence made the old 
Graham mansion a notable place. Maj. Graham was a first 
cousin of Mrs. Stonewall Jackson, and his wife was Mary Wash- 
ington, who inherited the blood of her kinsmen, George Wash- 
ington and Robert E. Lee. 

The first company of Confederate soldiers to leave Camden, 
in 1861, was the Camden Knights. They were assigned to the 
First Arkansas Regiment 'and were ordered to far-off Virginia. 
Fathers, husbands and brothers of the principal families were on 
the roll of this company, and it was a sad trial to the dear ones 
left behind that two or three weeks were necessary to convey a 
letter to or fro. But soon other companies were formed and 
ordered to different commands. 

CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS" AID SOCIETY. 

The ladies of Camden, after bidding adieu to their loved 
ones, dried their tears and began the life that has endeared the 
Southern woman to the old Confederate soldier. A society was 
organized to make clothes for the soldiers, gather medicines and 
write them cheering letters. Mrs. J. H. Graham was chosen 
president and soon became the guiding liglit. The writer was a 
member of that society and well remembers the perfect unity 
that prevailed, notwthstanding the fact that 'all religious denomi- 
nations and all classes of society were represented. Mrs. Gra- 
ham gave freely of her money and her time. She fed the hun- 
gry, clothed the threadbare and nursed the sick back to life. Two 
soldiers died in her home, whom she had nursed as tenderly as 
their mother could have done. 

MAKING CLOTHES. 

Whole suits of clothes and undergarments were made by 



44 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

ladies who had not previously ever made one. A tailor or skilled 
woman in cutting was employed to cut out garments, which were 
frequently taken home to be returned in a few days. Many, 
however, preferred to work at the society meetiugs and exchange 
t3ie news and gossip of the day. 

The woods were scoured for roots and barks to dye the Con- 
federate gray. They resurrected the spinning wheel, carded and 
spun. 

KNITTING SOCKS FOR PRICE'S BODYGUARD, 

Knitting socks — this was the most fashionable work of the 
times, the old teaching the young. Women walked the streets 
of Camden knitting socks, and on a visit to a friend the click 
of the knitting needles kept time with their tongues. 

Greneral Sterling Price's bodyguard, one frosty morning, 
halted long enough at Mrs. Graham's to receive eighty pairs of 
socks. Mrs. Caroline Burk knitted a sock one day that a poor 
Confederate soldier might have two pairs as he was hurriedly 
ordered away. Mrs. Tyra Hill knitted a pair of socks as she rode 
in her carriage from Camden to Washington on a visit to her 
son. These women had been delicately reared, but they remem- 
bered that they were Southern women and that the South had 
now need of their work. They frequently toiled all day and 
far into the night, so that some passing soldier might be cared 
for or the box for their distant loved ones made ready. 

HOSPITAL WORK. 

The sick and wounded soldiers were cared for in Camden. 
There were regular days to send nourishing and dainty meals 
to the sick and other days to visit them and cheer them up. For 
those at a distance, bed comforts and food that would keep good 
■for a few days would be shipped as circumstances permitted, 
atid many a soldier exhibited in camp the handiwork of the 
wife, mother or the girl he left behind him. 

WHEN HOPE HAD FLED. 

The women had nobly done their part at home as the men 
had done theirs on the field of battle. But in 1865 all hope had 
fled, and the tattered remnants came back. The returning soldier 



Work of Camden Women 45 

many times foimd his old home in ruins but his wife was not 
sitting a picture of desolation bemoaning her said lot.' The 
women did not complain or censure. They spoke words of cheer 
and comfort to their brave soldiers and when the white wings of 
peace rested on our Southland, they took up their new tasks with 
renewed vigor, assisting their dear men to mend their broken 
fortunes 

But few are now living that helped Mrs. Graham to pack 
boxes of clothing for the boys in gray. Mr. and Mrs. Graham 
and six children are sleeping in the old Camden cemetery. Only 
one child survives them, Mrs. Laura Toney of Woodberry Ark., 
a worthy descendant of a noble family. 



WOULD NEVER LOVE ANOTHER COUNTRY. 

This is one of Gen. Gordon's stories : In the Confederate 
army Longstreet's corps was making a night march. About 3 
or 4 o'clock in the morning when everyone was tired and worn' , 
out, a Georgia regiment stopped. A Georgia soldier put his 
rifle up against the tents on the other side of where Longstreet 
was. "Well," he said, "this is pretty hard — to fight all day 
and march all night. But l' suppose I can do it for my country." : 
He continued : "I can go himgry, I can fight ; if need be I can : 
die for my country, because I love my country; but when this 
war is over I'll be blowed if I'll ever love another country. — 
Christian Register. 



REMINISCENCES OF MRS. E. S. SCOTT. 

By Mrs. A. A. Tufts, of Camden. 

The name of my mother, Mrs. E. S. Scott of Camden, may 
be very properly enrolled among the number of those who loved 
and suffered for the South. Though she was mercifully spared 
the crowning blow which fell upon so many other mothers, whose 
brave sons gave up their lives in the struggle, yet she worked 
faithfully and spent many an hour of keen suspense 'and shed 
many bitter tears during those four long years. At first, she was 
opposed to secession, on account of the terrors of war, but when. 
Virginia, her native state, and Arkansas, her home state, went 
out of the Union, Mother went too, and when my brothers took 
up arms against the North she was ready with heart and tongue, 
pen and prayers, to further the cause. She was naturally of a 
bright and cheery disposition, especially fond of the society of 
young people, and once she laughingly said, "I might have 
stayed young always and never had to wear glasses, if it had not 
been for Abe Lincoln and his war making me shed so many 
tears and read by tallow candles." 

With the other ladies of Camden she was daily to be found 
sewing for the soldiers, knitting socks or rolling bandages. In 
a letter, dated August 15, 1861, she writes as follows: "We have 
a Soldiers' Aid society and are working constantly. We are 
determined to sustain our soldiers as far as we are able, to work 
for them, pray for them, and if the worst comes, we will burn 
up our bouses and sweep the earth literally and die, before we 
will give up our fair and beautiful land." 

! that victory at Manassas ! The God of Israel was and is 
our God. Glory be to His holy name !" Early in the war the 
regiment to which my brothers belonged were engaged east of the 
Mississippi river, and in order to be near them my mother went 
to Gainesville, Ala., where she lived the greater part of the time 
until the surrender. Then she began to work for the soldiers 



Reminiscences of Mrs. E. S. ^Scott 47 

in a way very near to her heart. There was a Confederate mili- 
tary hospital in the town, under the charge of Dr. Randolph 
Brunson, late of Pine Bluff, and I well remember how enthusias- 
tically she took up the work of nursing the sick and woimded 
soldiers. It was very hard to procure good brandy and nourish- 
ing food, but she always managed in some way to get the very 
best in the hospital stores for her special patients. At one time 
we had three sick soldiers in our house, of whom she had entire 
care. One was my oldest brother, Capt. Frank T. Scott, who had 
some serious eye trouble; another was Lieut. McLaughlin, with 
a shattered leg, and the third was a young Virginian, A. P. 
Bierne, midshipman in the Confederate navy, suffering from the 
results of exposure, which threatened consumption. 

During the summer of 1863, my mother was in Yazoo City, 
Miss., where the cannonading at Vicksburg could be plainly 
heard. My younger brother, Capt. C. C. Scott, was in the besieged 
city, and it was a time of great anxiety to my mother. Some 
of the days when the cannonading Avas constant she would often 
say, "It may be that shot has killed my Iwy." Then again on 
a day when all was still there would come the fear that the city 
had surrendered and she would almost long to hear again the 
roar of the cannon. 

In Yazoo City the court house was used as a military hospi- 
tal, and I can remember going there with mother and seeing the 
sick men on cots even out in front on the sidewalk. One day the 
news came that Federal troops were entering the city, and mother 
was greatly distressed to see the pale, emaciated men put into 
rude conveyances and hurried away for fear of capture. 

Soon after the surrender we returned to our home near Cam- 
den where for a year or two afterward mother still had a soldier 
to care for. This was a one-armed Confederate, who began to 
build up his fortune as a farmer, and who had the misfortune to 
break two fingers on his only hand. For several months it was 
her self-appointed task to dress and care for his crippled hand, 
and sometimes with eyes so misty with tears that she could 
scarcely see how to apply the dressings properly. She was more 
fortunate than many mothers in this, that both of her sons were 



48 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

spared to return home and be a comfort to her for the 11 years 
that she lived after the war closed^ and when at last she came 
to the end of her pilgrimage she was ready to lay down the bur- 
den she had borne so patiently and her beautiful, faithful and 
gentle life will ever remain an inspiration, not only to her 
children, but to all who ever came within the sphere of her 
influence. 

Few people living now have any idea what heroism it 
required to be a Confederate mother. They lived in a state 
of constant apprehension, fear of death or wounds to their soldier 
boys at the front and fear of starvation and rags for the little 
ones at home. Every strange face and every letter brought a 
chill to the heart. Eagerly they listened for news from the front, 
though at the same time dreading to hear what was oftener bad 
news than good. They toiled and slaved and comforted each 
other during the day, but at night while their little ones slept, 
their pillows were wet with tears as they wept and prayed with 
none but the great God to listen to their sobbing. 



A MODEST REQUEST. 

A Wounded Confederate Harder Hit in the Hospital Than on 

the Field. 

During the summer of 1864, wbile the hospitals of Rich- 
mond were crowded with wounded, tbe ladies of the city visited 
them daily, carrying with them delicacies of every kind and vied 
with each other in their efforts to comfort and cheer up the 
wounded. On one ocasion a bright-eyed damsel of about seven- 
teen summers was distributing flowers and speaking tender 
words of encouragement to those around her, when she over- 
heard a young officer who was suffering from his wounds ex- 
claim : "Oh, my Lord !" Approaching him rather timidly, in 
order to rebuke his profanity, she said: "I think I heard you 
call upon the name of the Lord. I am one of his daughters. 
Is there anything 1 can ask him for you ?" A hasty glance upon 
her lovely face and perfect form caused his countenance to 
brighten, as he instantly replied : "Yes, please ask Him to 
make me His son-in-law." 



PRAYER OF MRS. HOOD MOVING FEDERAL 
RAIDERS. 

By Mrs. S. Hood, of Camden. 

I was 17 years old when the war commenced and had been 
married a year. We had a happy home in Camden, Ark. My 
husband, four brothers and two brother-in-laws joined the Con- 
federate regiment that was made up there. They were in many 
battles, but none was killed or even wounded, except one, who 
received a flesh wound in his arm. With one exception, an old 
and broken down man, all are now dead. 

husband's unexpected return. 

My husband had been gone two years, and not hearnig from 
him, I thought that he was dead. One evening I was weaving 
cloth. The loom house was about three feet above the ground and 
there were no steps. My ear, alert to every footstep, caught that 
of my husband. I jumped fully five feet to get to him. We 
were now happy for a time. His health was broken down and 
just as soon as he was able to handle a musket off he went again. 

FEDERAL RAIDERS MOVED BY PRAYER. 

I was living across the Ouachita river when the Federals 
came to Camden. I had a good horse and hid him and ever\'- 
thing else that could be carried away. A neighbor of mine was 
not so fortunate. She was a widow and her sons were in the 
Southern army. 

I happened to be at her house one day when 200 Federals 
rode up. It was noon and they wanted dinner. The poor woman 
fed as many as she could. They went searching all over the 
place for meat, lard and breadstuffs. Then they tried to find 
the horses. The asked where her husband was and she told 
them that she was a widow. Then they wanted to know whether 
any of her boys were rebel soldiers, and when she replied "yes," 
they began cursing at a fearful rate. 



IV 



50 Cox FEDERATE WOMEN OF AkKANSAS 

That poor widow, believing that her last hour had come, 
fell upon her knees and poured forth such a prayer as I had 
never before or since heard. It moved those rough men so that 
some of them actually cried and they declared that the prayer 
would last them their lifetime. The whole troop soon left her 
in peace. Two of her sons died in the war and now she, too, has 
gone to her reward. 



CARRYING OUT HIS ORDERS. 

Hugh Mc , a son of the Emerald Isle, who had volun- 
teered in the 6th South Carolina infantry, was stationed on the 
beach of Sullivan's Island with strict orders to let no one pass 
him without the countersign, and that to be communicated only 
in a whisper. Two hours later the corporal, with the relief, dis- 
covered by the moonlight Hugh, up to his waist in water, the 
tide having set in since he was posted. 

"Who goes there?" the sentinel shouted. 

"Eelief." 

"Halt relief. Advance corporal and give the countersign." 

"I^m not going in there to be drowned," replied the corporal. 
"Come out here and let me relieve you." 

"Divil a bit of it," returned Hugh. "The leftenant toald 
me not to lave me post." 

"Well, then," replied the corporal, "I'll leave you in the 
water all night," and he turned as he spoke. 

But the sentinel's gun was promptly cocked and levelled. 

"Halt. I'll put a hole in you ef ye pass without the coun- 
tersign. Thorn's me orders from the "leftenant." 

"Confound you," cried the corporal, "everybody will hear 
it if I bawl it out to you." 

"Yes, me darlin," rejoined Hugh, "and the leftenant said it 
must be given in a whisper. In with yes. Me finger's on the 
trigger and me gun may go off." 

The corporal yielded to this and waded in to the faithful 
sentinel, who exclaimed: "Be jabbers, it's well you've come — the 
bloody tide has most drowned me." 



RECOLLECTIONS OF MRS. M. C. HINES, 
OF CAMDEN. 

When I look back through the lapse of some forty-odd years, 
back through the dark days that looked then like ruin and disas- 
ter, back through the days of pilfering and plundering, back 
through the events of the bloody, unjust strife, when this South- 
land was filled with guerrillas, jayhawkers, carpetbaggers 
and bloodsucking vampires, I feel almost appalled at the 
circumstances and conditions existing in those passing events 
of that just and nobly fought cause. 1 am seventy-four years 
old and can't say that I feel my infirmities. My health is fairly 
good. Mv hearing and eyesight is almost as good as it was thirtv 
years ago. I enjoy life yet, enjoy church going and visiting my 
neighbors. My scope in this life has been one of broad meas- 
ure, and when I view the lost cause in its original latitude and 
longitude "so to speak," I feel that I won as great a battle as 
any, or almost any of the sons of our Southland. Being deprived 
of the care, comfort and support of my husband, whose name 
was Wm. Lafayette Hines, who died in July, 1863, being left 
with three little children to care for, to be mother and father 
too, I kept my vigil as does the good angels on the death watch 
of an infant child. I lost my home, which in its true sense means 
a great deal. Lost my kindred relatives and friends, lost every- 
thing, but clung to my little ones. I was mother, wife and land- 
lord; had to chop wood, make fires, cook, plow, hoe, card, spin 
and weave, running the whole gauntlet, filling all the life's 
offices, dreading nightfall with all its hideous affliction, and I 
almost feel the chilly sensations yet. Expecting to be disturbed 
by some prowling marauder or listening for the clatter of some 
Yankee's horses feet or probably listening to the welcome "^Tioo 
hoo" of a friendly owl ; singing a cradle lullaby to my children 
until tired and worn out. When I would lay me down to sleep, 
knowing not whether I would wake or be murdered or burned 
alive. It was about this wise that I spent that never-to-be-for- 
gotten period which is as fresh in my memory today as the living 
sun. 



FEDERAL RAIDERS. 

By Mrs. Laura A. Wooten, of Corsica-rm. 
My veins are chilled when I think of the privations endured 
during tlie civil war period. I married R. C. Brazel, 18 miles 
south of Camden two years before the war began. Our home 
was a farm. My husband joined Cxeneral Tappan Grinstead's 
regiment and was made iirst lieutenant in 1861. A little girl 
had been born to us and six months after my husband's depart- 
ure a little boy came. My father, Rev. William Winbume of 
the Little Rock conference died in December, 1862. and my 
mother came to live with me. Her house and all its contents were 
destroyed by fire and she had the misfortune of breaking her arm 
in her efforts to escape. 

FEDERAL SOLDIERS PLUNDER. 

Three weeks after the fire, the enemy came and took every 
horse that mother and I had. They took our meat and plundered 
the house generally. Mother remonstrated a little, telling them 
that she was a poor widow with two girls to take care of and they 
called her a liar ! They then turned their attention to me, 
asking where my husband was. I replied that he was in the 
Confederate army where I wanted him to be. 

DID NOT EVEN SPARE THE BLIND. 

They spread general devastation. One incident will do to 
explain all. My father-in-law Brazel was totally blind. They 
went to his home, took every horse, stripped the beds, stole the 
dishes from the pantry and then went to the smoke house and 
after taking the meat emptied three or four barrels of flour on 
the floor and mixed in a barrel of molasses. They ordered our 
negro cook to prepare dinner and tried to induce her to run 
away with them. She refused. Then they plundered her house 
and took things of no earthly use to them. 

I hope that there will be no more war in my lifetime. The 
incidents that I have narrated are only a few of those that 



Federal Eaiders 53 

remain stamped on my memoiy. Why the great army of the 
North should have made war upon women and children is hard 
to understand. 



RELIGIOUS "LOYALTY." 

This explains itself : 

Headquarters Norfolk and Portsmouth. 

Norfolk, Va., Feb. 11, 1864. 
General Orders No. 3 : 

All places of public worship in Norfolk and Portsmouth 
are hereby placed under the control of the provost marshals of 
Norfolk and Portsmouth, respectively, who shall see the pulpits 
properly filled by displacing, when necessary, the present in- 
cimibents and substituting men of known loyalty and the same 
sectional denomination, either military or civil, subject to the 
approval of the commanding general. 

They shall see that the churches are open freely to all offi- 
cers and soldiers, white or colored, at the usual hour of worship, 
and at other times, if desired, and they shall see that no insult 
or indignity be offered to them, either by word, look or gesture, 
oji the part of the congregation. 

The necessar}^ expenses will be le^^ed as far as possible in 
accordance with the previous usage or regulations of each congre- 
gation respectively. 

No property shall be removed, either public or private, 
without permission from these headquarters. 

By command of Brigadier-General E. A. WILDE, 

GEORGE H. JOHNSON, 
Captain and Assistant Adjutant-Greneral. 
Headquarter^s Provost Marshal's Office, 

Norfolk, Va., Feb. 13, 1864. 

Any insult, indignities or abuse offered to officers or sol- 
diers visiting houses of worship under the above order, should 
I)e reported at once to this office. 

CHAELES M. WHELDEN. 
Lieutenant-Colonel and. Provost Marshal. District of Virginia. 



WHEN PAPA WAS GONE TO THE WAR. 

By Mrs. L. A. Eason, of De Queen. 

My father, Dorton Clark, was a Confederate soldier and 
served through the war. When papa went to the war. mamma 
was left to provide for four little girls. The times were so hard 
that she had no siioes for her feet. By working hard every day 
she was able to keep a roof over our heads. Eoa&ting ears were 
a welcome food. Roasted potatoes and boiled vegetables, with 
only salt to season them, were our food. There was no meat. 
Sassafras tea and coffee made from potatoes were our drink. 
We children picked the cotton from the seed with our fingers, 
and mamma spun and wove the cloth, so that we might have 
some clothing. 

FATHER DOWN WITH RHEUMATISM. 

When papa came home after the war, he was struck down 
with rheumatism. He lived until January 18, 1904, but was able 
to do very little work. The cost of his medical attendance and 
of his funeral ate up mother^s little savings. Mother was 70 
years old March 28, 1907. She does not regret or repine over 
the past. She is a true Southern woman, as my father was a 
true Southern man. 



A Confederate soldier who shall be nameless to the readers 
of this little sldt, brought forth his pocket Bible upon his re- 
turn from the wars, and handing it to his mother, said: 

"Take it, mother; it has been with me every day, and I 
have twice read it from Genesis to Revelation." 

"Goodness, gracions," exclaimed the lady. "Wliere did 
you get it? That is my hymn book that has been lost for four 
years." 

The soldier changed color slightly and explanations were in 
order. 



INCIDENT IN THE LIFE OF MRS. C. K. HOLMAN. 

By Miss Ida C. Holman, of De Queen. 

Xot having any recollection of the war myself, I send a little 
circumstance which I have often heard my mother, now dead, 
relate. I have often heard her say that she never refused a Con- 
federate soldier food or shelter and never charged one for it, 
and was never treated with any discourtesy by one. I have also 
heard her and other women in this county say that they fared 
worse after the war. during the reconstruction period, alx)ut 
1868, when the militia were in this county, than they did during 
the war. 

During the absence of her husband in the army, Mrs. C. 
K. Holman, then living near Paracliffta, Sevier county, Ark., 
was one night requested by some Confederate soldiers to furnish 
them food and lodgings for the night, which she cheerfully 
did. Among them was a young soldier who reminded her of one 
of her own sons, then far away from home. While sitting 
around the fire after supper, she observed a hole in the knee 
of the trousers of the young soldier, and after the men had 
retired she sent her son to the room to tell the young man that if 
he would send his trousers to her she would mend them. On 
hearing this message to the young man, all of the others 
exclaimed, "Take mine, too! Take mine, too!" which he did. 
and as there were quite a number of them, Mrs. Holman and her 
daughter (now Mrs. Sager of Hubbard, Tex.) sat up nearly all 
the night repairing them. 

I do not claim that there was either heroism or fortitude 
displayed in this incident ; merely a small service, willingly ren- 
dered, to some of the men who wore the gray. 



WOMEN PLOWING IN THE FIELD. 

By Mrs. James, of Doddridge. 

My husband joined the Confederate army the second year 
of the war and served until his death. We were living in For- 
sythe, Ga., at that time. He left me with five little boys. 

Although I had plenty of Confederate money, it would 
not buy anything, and even with gold I had the greatest diffi- 
culty in procuring the necessaries of life. To support myself 
and children I was obliged to plow and hoe all day in the field, 
and then work a part of the night carding, spinning and weav- 
ing wool and cotton, to clothe myself and little ones. In the 
woods we found herbs that would dye our rough cloth, some for 
ourselves and some to send to my husband. Our coffee was made 
from corn meal and tea from sassafras roots. Those were hard 
times on a woman with no man to advise or help her. 

After the Yankees came, there was new money, greenbacks, 
and some five and ten-cent shinplasters. As the money would 
buy something, and as there were occasionally sutler stores in 
the Federal army where purchases might be made, I sold a few 
geese and was able to ohtain some very necessary articles. 

RAIDING PARTIES OF BOTH ARMIES. 

The advance of the Federal army did not always mean a 
permanent stay. The Federals came frequently as a raiding 
party and would retire upon the advance of a Confederate force, 
which had also no intention of remaining permanently. The 
Federals were enemies, but the Confederates were often in des- 
perate need of horses, forage and food. War also dulled the 
sensibilties of men. They became used to pillage and a weak 
woman's voice was not heard. A raiding party of one side would 
come one week, to be followed by a scouting party of the other 
side. We hid our horses in the forest thickets and they found 
them saddled and bridled. These raiders robbed our beegums. 
took all the food in sight. I have stood in my yard and heard 




Mrs. C. K. Holman 
of De Queen 



Women Plowing in the Field 57 

the cannons roar and the small arms crackle, as a skirmish or 
battle began . My husband was in a distant command, and under 
all the sad circumstances that surrounded my life I sometimes 
wished that the battle roar that fell upon my ears was the death 
knell of the war. 

NOW 73 YEARS OLD. 

I am now 73 years old and have been for many years a resi- 
dent of Arkansas. The Confederate Pension Board of the State 
upon a consideration of the changed circumstances of my life 
and perhaps the fidelity with which I have tried to uphold the 
character of a Southern woman, granted me a pension in 1904, of 
$48. I appreciate the kindness of the Pension Board. It makes 
an old woman feel good to know that her husband's army life 
and her owoi sacrifices during the Civil war are not forgotten. 



GRAND ROUNDS. 

There happened to be on post one night in Arkansas a 
Frenchman by the name of Victor Pedron, as gallant a Confed- 
erate as ever shouldered a musket. He was on the second relief 
and toward the close of his tour was getting tired and sleepy, 
when to his great joy, he saw a body of men approaching, which 
he did not doubt was the third relief. "WHio comes dere?" he 
called. "Grand rounds," was the reply. "Begar, I thought it 
was ze tird relief," returned the disappointed sentinel, and then 
nothing further being said, the group advanced, rousing the 
weary sentinel again: "Who comes dere?" Again was repeated, 
"Grand rounds." But this time the irritated man could not con- 
tain himself and half asleep shouted: "Oh, go vay wid your 
grand roimds. I have ze grand sommeil." 



SOUTHERN WOMEN WALKING FIFTY MILES TO 
MILL AND CARRYING SACKS OF MEAL 
BACK HOME. 

By E. E. Collier, near Durdanelle, 
Before the Federals occupied this country, I had accumu- 
lated a large amount of com and wheat. To show the condition 
the country was in, I can truthfully say that for over two 
years I never saw a man come to the mill except armed squads 
of scouts, and not customers. Our customers were women alto- 
gether. I have seen as many as forty-six women at the mill at 
one time waiting their turns. Some came as far as thirty-five 
and forty miles. Two women would get two wagon wheels, some- 
times one would belong to the front and the other to the hind 
part of the wagon. Then they would yoke up two yearling steers, 
and put a line on each one. One woman on the right side and 
the other on the left to hold the cattle in the road, and drive to 
mill and back again with their load. Often they came without 
any grain but none ever went away without breadstuff. Again 
some would bring two or maybe three yards of home made cot- 
ton cloth to pay for their meal or flour. The price was a 
dollar a yard. Those who came a long distance and had to stay 
all night were always taken to our house. Women came in 
bunches from Dover in Pope county and crossed the Arkansas 
River; from Lanes Bottom; from Johnson county and from 
Scott county. A party of thirteen women came once from Scott 
county, some fifty miles or more on foot and each one got all 
she could carry on her back. Many women once in good cir- 
cumstances were reduced to this extremity. 



BLOODY WORK OF BUSHWHACKERS IN YKLL 
COUNTY AND NEAR POCAHONTAS. 

By Mrs. L. C. Hall, of Dardanelle. 

Situated between two armies and being frequently overrun 
by the raiding and scouting parties of each, Yell county suffered 
much from the horrors of war; but worse than either Federal or 
Confederate troops, were the depredations and atrocities of bands 
of marauders belonging to neither side, known as bushwhackers 
or jawhawkers, who preyed impartially on secessionist and 
unionist alike. 

From Mrs. Hart, an aged lady now well on between eighty 
and ninety years of age. and her daughter, Mrs. McCray and Miss 
Lizzie Hart, I heard many incidents of those perilous times, in 
which they were active. All men able to bear arms were in the 
field, only the aged and infirm, and the very young boys being 
left at home as protectors. Many of these were murdered in cold 
blood by the bushwhackers and at times it was necessary to pre- 
serve their lives, or that they hide from these lawless bands, 
whose M'atehword seemed to be "Kill ! Kill ! Kill !" and whose 
lust for blood seemed well nigh insatiable. 

During one of these seasons of special peril, a young man 
named Underwood, belonging to Capt. Hollswell's command, 
was fatally wounded by Jake Graves, a bushwhacker. Under 
cover of night, he was carried on a stretcher several miles to the 
banks of Harris Creek, at a point near the Hart home, where 
he was placed in a tent, concealed by the heavy woods and under- 
growth. Here he was nursed, night and day, by six heroic girls, 
two at a time, for several days until death relieved him of his 
sufferings. His grave was made on the spot where he died, and 
he was buried by three old men, Messrs. Toomer, Harrington, 
and Pendergrass. They dared not mark his grave, but concealed 
it as well as they could, being assisted by these six young heroines, 
his faithful nurses, Mrs. McCray, then Miss Anne Hart, her sis- 



GO Confederate Women of Arkansas 

ter, Miss Lally, afterwards Mrs. Leonard Cotton, Miss Pender- 
grass, now Mrs. Berry, Misses Harrington and Hoovis, and Miss 
Ferguson of Pope county; whether or not these three last are 
living, or whether married or single I know not. 

The Hart home was known as Confederate headquarters, 
and one dark night, word was received that the Federals were 
coming. There being no other way to warn the small Confederate 
command of their approach, Miss Lally Hart, a young girl of 
seventeen, rode througli the midnight woods, three or four miles, 
alone, to give the alarm. 

Mrs. Hart, whose mind is wonderfully clear and alert, told 
of her many experiences, some humorous, as when she became a 
sort of peripatetic postoffice, using her hose, already fulfilling 
their lawful function, as mailbags, many otlierwise, as when she 
rode horse-back many perilous miles, with the fear of death in 
her heart, to carry relief, in the shape of a sack of meal, to a 
starving family. On one occasion, she accompanied the ox wagon, 
driven by one of her faithful negroes, ten or twelve miles with a 
load of corn and wheat to be -ground at Wood's mill. Part of 
the load belonged to neighbors, and she hoped by her presence 
to protect it from thieves. The wheat had been ground and 
sacked, and was in the upper story of the mill. While the com 
was being ground, the Federals rode up to the mill, and imme- 
diately confiscated the meal. In vain the lady pleaded for at 
least a portion of it, to take back to her neighbors Avho had con- 
fided tbe corn to her care. Not one peck would they allow her. 
So off they went with the entire amount, including the miller's 
toll, "but," she added, wdth a little chuckle of satisfaction, in 
telling me of it, a few days ago, "they didn't know a thing about 
the flour upstairs, and you ma}^ be sure I didn't tell them." 

In an old scrap book belonging to Mrs. Dora Shinn, nee 
Lemoyne, I find the following taken from "The Pocahontas Her- 
ald :" 

"Miss Williams, a daughter of Isaac Williams, living in 
Black Eiver swamp, about seven miles from this place, heard 
the report that troops were approaching this place .on Sunday 



Bloody \Voi;k of Bushwackers Xeak Pocahontas 61 

evening. Her father was not at home, but she immediately 
caught a horse, and was soon off in search of him. 

"She found liim at a neighbor's 'and told him to hurry on 
home and get his gun, and come here to help drive back the 
enemy. She then returned home, got down her father's rifle, 
moulded all his lead into bullets, took the gun, powder and bul- 
lets, and hid them under the house, again mounted the horse, 
and rode to several houses and spread the alarm, returning home 
in time to give the old man his gun and ammunition and started 
him with a crowd of ten men she had collected for the scene of 
action. All this she did in less than two hours. Such acts of 
heroism should not be passed by without notice. 

This same scrap-book has this comment on the weather: 

"The weather is as cold as a Yankee's heart, and as dis- 
agreeable as his company; as blustering as he is before a battle, 
and as dismal as he is after one." 

There are niany newspaper accounts of l)att]es, with private 
letters from soldiers, on the same subjects wliich the papers were 
permitted to print. There was also the speech of Miss Lucy 
Lorraine Adams, presenting a flag to the Moro Greys, Calhoun 
county, and of Miss Elizabeth Higginbotham, presenting a flag 
to the Jackson Minute Men. 



LONG WAY FROM HEADQUARTERS. 

A Texas soldier, trudging along one day all alone, met a 
Methodist circuit rider 'and at once recognized him as such, 
but affected ignorance of it. "What army do you belong to?" 
asked the preacher. "I belong to the — th Texas regiment. Van 
Dorn^s army," replied the soldier. 

"What army do you belong to ?" 

"I belong to the army of the Lord," was tlie solemn reply. 

"Well, then, my friend," said the soldier, "3'ou are a long 
way from headquarters." 



HOW WOMEN SUPPORTED THE FAMILY. 

By .!//>■. /'((///■(• Wriijht Ilcdijcs. of El Dorado. 

^lanv soonosi and incidents of my cliildhood seoni written in 
indelible letters on my brain. Of these, the eivil war period has 
perhajxs the most eonsjiieuous plaee. In truth 1 set out on life's 
Toyage nnder rather Si\d though thrilling eireuuistanees. since I 
sat at the i\vt of my father, and heard his talk to my mother and 
brothers of war. War I why. what did it mean? V listened 
breathlessly and in silence to those somewhat excited conversa- 
tions, nearly every one taking part in them, having some reason 
to advance or solution to oU'er. until 1 slowly and laboriously 
gi-aspetl the thought tJiat for some cause all the men in the entire 
country had fallen out, had quarreled and forthwith had taken 
guns and swords in their hands with which to slay one another. 
In l^his aspect the struggle appeared in my childish eyes. But 
ere the four weary years which intervened between IStH and 
lSt>o had passed, even the children in that part of Arkansas in 
which 1 lived, knew but too well the meaning of war, and became 
familiar, toi>. with its attendant sorrow. sutVeriug. privation and 
death. 

.Aly father. ^Major Edward W. Wright, lived in lSt?l, in 
Union county, Arkansas, not far from the little village of Lis- 
bon, and almut sixteen miles from El Dorado. The adjacent 
country was made up of quite a gxK>dly settlement of wealthy 
planters. WTien the war fairly opened, very nearly all the able- 
bodieil nu^n in it forthwith entered the Confederate army. 

AN UNPROTECTILD COMMUNITY. 

Thus it fell out that all that portion of Arkansas \tos vir- 
tually left without a man capable of bearing arms, the aged men, 
women and children, and the negroes, alone making up the 
remaining population; nor was it long before these noncombat- 
ants faced conditions which had never before existed For the 
blockade cut otf supplies of all kinds to a great extent, and the 



How VVoMKM SmMM)itii;i) rill'; Family (>;5 

capture of New Oilcans on'cciually slmi out oven the nocos.sanGS 
of life. But some time ]>rior to tliis latter event. indeiHl 1 may 
say quite soon after the greater part of tlie iiicii bml i!,()iie to swc^ll 
the number of Confederate soldiers, the women of Union eounty 
had shown themselves entitled to bear the honorable and worthy 
names of Spartan wives and motliers. The call of duty found 
them ready, nor were they daunted in the |)rcscncc of danji^er. 
^riie entire county ])rescnt('(l 'a scene of remarkable activity, 
in vvlii{ih woman was the comniandin<,f Iif]^ure. In the household, 
in the workshoj), on the plantation, the liaiul of woiiuin was dis- 
played; and woman's mind directed nearly every undertakins^, 
<;reat or little. Perhaps on tlu^ different phintations was her 
work nioi'c liiu^hly ajjpreciated and more beneficial, for h(>re 
with their own hands, aided of course by slaves, the women raised 
supplies, not only for the subsistence of their immedate house- 
holds and those dependent upon tlicni, but also for the armies 
of the Southland. So long as the troops were in the state, little 
didiculty was experienced in getting provisions and articles of 
clothing to them, but when tho army wad beyond the Mississippi, 
many obstacles were encountered, some of which it was found 
impossible to overcome. 

It must not be imagined that the production of these sup- 
plies was accomplished without vast trouble, and many hard- 
ships. Yet witholl there was no faltering on the part of these 
heroic women. What tongue or pen can portray or describe the 
sacrifices they made, the sufferings they endured in the dark 
days of ]8()3 and 1865? I feel inadequate to the task of attempt- 
ing at best a feeble recital of their lot at that particular time, 
yet I shall try to record, or at least give a glimpse of some things 
they accomplislied under circumstances that must have tried 
the stoutest heart, the loftiest courage. 

My infoi-mation was given me some years ago, nearly all 
of those who supplied it having long since gone to their eternal 
reward; and I have treasured it both for the memory which it 
embalms as well as its value to the future historian. From it I 
learn how the cmintry comprising and surrounding the home of 



64 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

my childhood was 'almost in a day transformed from a land of 
opnlence and luxury, a land ''flowing with milk and honey,'' into 
a section where care and toil took up their abode, and where the 
very trees, shrubs and flowers were prized not so much for their 
beauty, fragrance and appearance, as for their medicinal quali-. 
ties, or their power to supply, though in the slightest degree, 
food or raiment for human kind. 

wcTman's aid to confederacy. 
The uniforms for the first company of Confederate soldiers 
that left Union eoiinty were made by women who met at El 
Dorado, where nimble and willing fingers, though unused to that 
sort of work, quickly fashioned the cloth which a tailor had cut 
into garbs for the soldier boys. And this was only the beginning, 
since thenceforward this and other kinds of labor was carried 
forward altogether by women. Looms, tanneries, spinning 
wheels were kept busily employed, the most of the products 
thereof being sent to the army, though in various shapes and 
guises. A common purpose inspired al), wealth, station, rank, 
being forgotten in the desire to aid the Confederacy. Plants 
and shrubs heretofore of little value suddenly became of the 
greatest use. Boneset, Horehound, Mullen, each had its partic- 
ular sphere at that time. But the Poppy was of the highest bene- 
fit. The seed was sown generally in the garden; when the plant 
reached a certain age, an incision was made in the stalk with a 
sharp knife, and the sap oozed out in the form of a gum, which 
was dried and used in lieu of opium. It was put in boxes or 
small packages and sent to the various hospitals. Indigo was 
likewise largely cultivated, and was employed in dyeing cloth. 
Beef tallow was held in high esteem, especially by those who, 
like my mother, were so fortunate as to own a pair of candle 
moulds, for a supply of candles was extremely desirable. The 
more general way of supplying light for the household was to 
take several yards of wicking, which had been spun soft, dou- 
bled and twisted, wax it and soak it in turpentine, then take a 
bottle, wind the wicking around it, leaving a little at the top to 
be lighted, and as it burnt down, pull the wicking up. Scores 
of women sewed bv this sort of liffht, making clothino- for the 



How Women Supported the Family 65 

soldiers and for members of their household, and thought them- 
selves lucky. 

But the contents of the boxes which were sent from time 
to time to the soldiers in the field, showed more clearh' the 
result of women's labor, and the various expedients which 
changed conditions had forced them to adopt. For the box con- 
tained man}^ suits of jeans, home-made blankets usually made 
from carpets taken from the floors of parlors and sitting-rooms, 
shoes of various sizes, home-made handkerchiefs, pin cushions 
filled with pins and needles, sewing thread, towels, soap both 
to use in washing face and body, and also to put in the soldiers' 
socks to prevent the feet from blistering while on a long march, 
boxes of different kinds of salves, corn cob pipes with bits of 
cane for stems, sacks of red pepper for seasoning food and also 
to put in soldier's shoes or boots to keep liis feet warm, scores of 
black balls made of bees-wax with which to color white thread, 
rice, home-grown, and husked in a mortar made from a tree 
whose length had been burnt into a cone-shaped hole, the pestle 
composed of a piece of wood with nails driven in the end. There 
was something for every member of the company, no one being 
overlooked or forgotten. And each box had many rolls of linen 
for bandages made from bed linen, and lint scraped, oh, how 
carefully, from table linen and pillow cases. Aside from these 
things there were socks, underclothing, and scores of smaller 
articles, all of which were of use and value in the camp. ISTor 
must I forget a stock of stationery, made of all kinds and col- 
ors of wrapping paper, dingy and brown perhaps, but neverthe- 
less very acceptable to the soldier to whom it was sent ; and with 
it were goose quills for pens, and many bottles of home-made 
ink. Furthermore, there were boxes specially prepared for the 
sick and for the hospitals, containing many delicacies, such as 
coffee, tea, and other things that had been stored aw^ay with all a 
miser's care for just such purposes, that is to say for the sick 
and wounded soldiers. These boxes were usually sent by wagons 
to Camden and thence to Memphis, from whence they were for- 
warded to their destination. Later when the federal authority 
gained control of the last named place, other sources were found 



66 Confp:derate Women of Arkansas 

whereby to reach the Southern 'army. For until the last the 
women never ceased their labors, though hardships and priva- 
tions encompassed them about. 

I have only touched on a portion of the part which the 
women of Union county Arkansas, played in the dark and try- 
ing days of the Civil war. But I most sincerely trust that this 
imperfect sketch may give some conception, however feeble, of 
the heroism, the self-sacrificing spirit which inspired the women 
of the section of the state of Avhich I have written ; and that com- 
ing generations may recall their labors, sufferings and sacrifices 
with just pride and profound reverence. 



DISPOSAL OF "REBEL" WOMEN. 

(Extracts from official orders.) 
Headquarters Seventeenth Army Corps. Provost Marshal's 

Office. 

Vicksburg, Dec. 27, 1863, 

The following named persons. Miss Kate Bamett, Miss El- 
la Bamett, Miss Laura Latham, Miss Ellie Martin, and Mrs. 
Mary Moore, having acted disrespectfully towards the piresident 
and government of the United States, and having insulted the 
officers, soldiers and loyal citizens of the United States, who 
had assembled at the Episcopal church in Vicksburg on Christ- 
mas day for divine service, where the officiating minister prays 
for the welfare of "the president of the United States and all 
others in authority," are hereby banished and will leave the 
Federal lines within forty-eight hours, under penalty of impris- 
onment. 

Hereafter all persons, male or female, who by word, deed 
or implication, do insult or show disrespect to the president, 
government or flag of the United States or any officer or soldier 
of the United States, upon matters of a national character, 
shall be fined, banished or imprisoned, according to the gross- 
ness of the off!ense. 

By order of 

MAJOR-GENERAL ]\[THERSON, 
JAMES WILSON, 
Lieutenant-Colonel, Provost Marshal, Seventeenth Army Corps. 



FAREWELL TO JACKSONPORT GUARDS. 

By Mrs. V. Y. Cool-, of Elmo. 

Of all my childhood memories of the war between the North 
and South, nothing remains so vivid as the words ''Roll him in 
the river," which were spoken by a tall, angular old woman, as 
she rushed up to a squad of soldiers who were rolling a large 
box down the river bank. 

This incident occurred at Grand Glaize on a beautiful Sun- 
day afternoon early in May, 1861. when the storm cloud of war 
was beginning to burst over our Southland. 

Excitement was high and the hot heads who staid at home 
were revelling in the notoriety of the occasion. 

A week previous to this well remembered day, a stranger 
made his way unobserved into our little town and upon being 
questioned refused to give any information regarding himself 
or his intentions. Of course, he was immediately arrested as a 
spy, but as nothing definite could be proved, it was decided that 
he should be caged and sent to Abraham Lincoln. "But before 
being shipped, he must be "marked," some one suggested. So 
carrying out this suggestion, half of his beard and half of his 
hair were shaved off, leaving one side of his face and head per- 
fectly smooth. He was then placed in a large box and put in a 
prominent place for exhibition until the next boat passed. To 
the children of the town, he was an object of terror, and all 
were glad that he had been caught before he had time to do any 
harm to the Southern Army. 

Thus on the day mentioned, a great crowd of people, includ- 
ing our company of soldiers, the Glaize Rifles, in their bright 
new uniforms lined the bank of the river on each side of the 
landing to greet and bid farewell to the Jacksonport Guards who 
were leaving that day for the battlefields of Virginia. 

On hearing that a Yankee was boxed ready to be shipped to 
Lincoln, the Jacksonport Guards begged that he might be put on 



68 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

their boat that they might hang him to the jackstaff before sun- 
down, and without waiting for the consent of the ones in charge, 
some of them rushed up the street to get the cage, coming back 
rolling it with the poor old fellow inside as though it were a 
bale of cotton. 

Among those who had come to bid the last farewell to the 
ones leaving home for the sake of their country, was an old 
lady whose only son and child was leaving her that day and 
whom she never expected to see again. 

No wonder she cried out, "Roll him in, roll the Yankee 
in. if it was not for such as he, my son would not be leaving me 
today." 

The caged Yankee was carried to Memphis and there offered 
his liberty, but enjoying his notoriety, he refused it and was 
taken as far as Cairo in his box. 



LEE'S FAREWELL ADDRESS. 

Headquarters Army of Northern Virginia, Appomattox C. H., 

April 10, 1865. General Order No. 19. 

After four years of arduous service, marked by unsurpassed 
courage and fortitude, the army of Northern Virginia has been 
compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources. I 
need not tell the survivors of so many hard-fought battlas, who 
have remained steadfast to the last, that I have consented to this 
result from no distrust of them, but feeling that valor and devo- 
tion could accomplish nothing that would compensate for the 
loss that must have attended a continuance of the contest., I 
determined to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose past ser- 
vices have endeared them to their countrymen. By the terms of 
agreement, officers and men can return to their homes and remain 
until exchanged. You will take with you the satisfaction that 
proceeds from the conciousness of duty well performed, and I 
earnestly pray that a merciful God will extend to you His bless- 
ings and protection. With an unceasing admiration of your con- 
stancy and devotion to your country, and a grateful remembrance 
of your kind and generous consideration for myself, I bid you an 
affectionate farewell. R. E. LEE. 



HARDSHIPS OF THE WIFE OF A CAPTAIN IN 
MONROE'S REGIMENT. 

By Mrs. D. L. Vmice, of Eureka Springs. 

My husband, D. L. Vance, was captain of Company G, 
Monroe's regiment, Cabell's brigade. He went to the anny the 
first of the year 1863, and remained in it till he was killed by 
Union home guards, July, 1864. I lived in the country, about 
20 miles below Little Rock. After the Federals took Little 
Eock it was not long until they began foraging through the 
country. Several of them passed my house one day, and when 
they oame back they had a drove of cattle. The road ran through 
our field, and they had two large gates to pass through. Some 
of my cattle had just come up and I went to drive them out 
of the way and got all away but one, when the Yankees drove 
it away from me. I was so angry that I threw the club I had 
in my hand at one of them. I tried to hit him, but struck his 
horse in the face; I got a cursing for it. The gentleman said 
he would run his bayonet through me if I did that again. 

A few negroes were still with me. I had hired them to 
gather my corn, and they had just started in with a load, when 
they met the Federals. The negroes had a yoke of oxen to the 
wagon and the soldiers made them take the oxen out and they 
drove them off with the other cattle, and the negro man returned 
to the house. 

I was sitting on the steps seeing it all. He came up to me 
and said: "Missus, you ou_ght not to have struck that man's 
horse ; that's what made them take the oxen." I said I did not 
care: they had taken nearly all I had, and 1 would as soon die 
as live. 

PLEADED IN VAIN. 

There was a young paroled soldier, a neighbor, and he went 
to their camp that evening and pleaded with them to give up 
the oxen, but the lieutenant, a very gallant gentleman, said they 



7() Confederate Women of Arkansas 

would not and sent nie word to go to him and he would tell me 
what he thought of me. I did not go to find out. 

At another time I was away from home a day or two, and 
when I returned, the first thing that I saw was the top of my 
corn crib torn off. I knew what that meant. The Federal sol- 
diers had been there in my absence and taken nearly all my corn. 

STOLE husband's HORSE. 

One time my husband sent his horse, home with a very sore 
back. I doctored him and fattened him. He was a fine riding 
horse. One day I was sitting at a window and saw two soldiers 
coming through the field. I went out the back hall door where 
I could see the horse in the horse lot. I was afraid they would 
take him. I stood there some time and did not see the Federals 
pass. I stepped back to the hall door and there they stood in 
the hall. They said : "What did you get up from the window 
for? Your husband is home and you went out to tell him to 
hide." 

I replied: "He is not at home." 

They said they know better, and that was w^hat I went out 
for. It made me so angry I said: "I don't tell lies, and if 
you want to know what I went out for it was to see if you were 
going to take my horse." 

They went to the horse lot and looked in his mouth, and 
when they came in again they said : "You need not hide that 
horse tonight." I told him I was not going to hide him, but 
I knew they were going to take him, so when I got up next 
morning I went to look for him and he was gone. They did 
not take him out through the gate, but let the fence down at 
the back of the lot. 

GOT OXEN AND HOESE BACK. 

The same paroled soldier that tried to get them to give 
up the oxen, followed them ten miles next morning and pleaded 
so hard they gave them up. Well, I sent for this young man 
and we went to the next house about a mile from my house 
where the wagon train had staid that night. There was a plan- 
tation of corn there, that the owner had run off and left as soon 
as the Federals took Little Eock. The ground was frozen and 



Hardships of the Wife of a Captain^ 71 

I could hear the train going before we got there and, when we 
got there every one was gone, but the one who had my horse, 
and he was just starting.' I rode up to him and said: 

"That is my horse. What are you going to do with him ? 
I want m} horse.' 

I was determined to follow him to Little Eock if he did not 
give him up. 

He eyed the young man with me for he had his gray uni- 
form on. Once the fellow put his hand back on his gun, but he 
did not scare us. We stood there quite a while. I kept telling 
him to give up my horse, so at last he gave him to me, saying 
to the young man : "She's got a brudder or brudder-in-law that 
has put the devilment in her head." 

That wase my husband's lirother. Captain J. M. Vance, that 
came with Steele's army. 1 went home with the horse and took 
a little nephew and went to Little Eock. I rode the horse. We 
did not overtake the wagon train until we got to the arsenal. I 
got a pass to go South, went home and got a little boy to go 
with me. 

FINDING Monroe's regiment. 

We started to find Monroe's regiment. I heard it was at 
Arkadelphia. I rode that horse, for I was determined the Fed- 
erals should not have him. We went a long way and heard the 
regiment was at Princeton, so we went there. 1 inquired in the 
town and they told me the regiment was camped at the edge of 
town. After Uxo or tliree days the news came that the Federals 
were coming, and our boys hustled out. I told the boy that came 
with me we would meet the Federals, but he must not tell them 
which road our soldiers took. 

Sure enough, we had not gone far until we met them. An 
officer asked us how far we had come. I told him. He then asked 
if any rebel troops were there. I told him "no." Then he wanted 
to know when they left and what road they took. I told him I 
did not know. He spoke very crossly, and said : "It is very 
strange. Madam, you don't know." Then he turifed to the boy 
and spoke crossly to him. and he got scared and said they went 
down the Camden road. 1 left the horse with mv liusl)and and 



73 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

rode a sore-back pony that belonged to the negro man that my 
husband had with him. 

HUSBAND shot DOWN. 

A set of vagabonds sprung up as soon as the Federals took 
Little Eock. They went to General Steele and told a tale of 
woe about how they had been treated, and he let them form 
companies. They called themselves Home Guards. My hus- 
band and two of his men were on a scout and were slipped upon 
by those men and shot. He was killed and one of his men 
wounded and a boy who had taken them some papers was shot, 
while telling them not to shoot him, that he was no soldier, 
•but they shot him and badly wounded him. 



CARING FOR SICK SOLDIERS IN GRANVILLE 
COUNTY, N. C. 

During the war our women of Granville Co., N. C, being 
far from the front, pined for the opportunity of doing something 
for our sons, brothers and loved ones who were bravely defend- 
ing their homes and firesides. So after consulting together they 
decided to ask the authorities at Eichmond for one hundred or 
more sick or convalescent soldiers to nurse back to health. Their 
request was granted and the sick soon arrived from the hospi- 
tals, pale, weak and wounded. They were met and warmly wel- 
comed to homes and hearts. Some families took four, some two, 
others more as they had room. 

How kindly and how proudly and tenderly they were min- 
istered to by the gentle hands of our patriotic women can be 
imagined, and how the tired, suffering soldiers enjoyed the cool 
country and fresh milk and butter, the complete rest and quiet, 
was shown by their rapid restoration to health and strength. 

All too soon, it seemed to us, they were called back, their 
furlough ended, and they returned for duty with renewed vigor 
and pleasant Hiemories of a delightful furlough. 

MES. M. A. HAEEIS. 

Henderson. X. C. 




Mrs. Sallie Wallace Rutherford. 



MISS BARRINGTON'S BRAVERY. 

By Mrs. F. L. Sutton, of Fayetteville. 

There is a heroism that seldom reaches the light of history, 
but it is nevertheless just as lofty, just as genuine, as that dis- 
played at Thermopylae, Yorktown, the Alamo — the heroism of 
women during a great, fierce war. 

A tithe has never been told of the deeds of daring, the 
brave defenses, the ministries of mercy, performed by the women 
of the South during the terrible war between the states. I say 
South because she is the knd of my cradling, and her lot was 
mine during the long four years of cruel strife — a time when 
frequently it was a costly struggle even to exist. In those days 
women and little children lived indefinitely without visible 
means of support, sometimes not seeing a dollar for months, or 
if they had the means, in large portions of the country there 
was almost nothing to be had. Much of the time they subsisted 
upon the simple fruits that grew wild, cornbread, sorghum 
molasses and sassafras tea without sugar or cream. 

Were there crops to be made, women made them; were 
fences to be built, women must build them. They raised houses, 
rolled logs, went to mill, not with two fat sleek horses for a team, 
but more likely the family cow and a big calf yoked together. 
It was women that killed hogs and beeves, and in the absence 
of these brutes, women shouldered guns and went hunting or 
fishing. In the absence of physicians (and there was a dearth 
of them for a long period), women practiced without leave or 
license, sometimes with gxeater success "than some college men 
with diplomas to recommend them. But more pathetic still, it 
sometimes fell to woman's part not only to offer the final prayer 
in behalf of the dying and close the sightless eyes, but with her 
own hands, aided by other women to dig the grave, make the 
rude pine coffin, and after reading the burial service to fill the 
grave, mark the place with a simple board, then leave his body 
to nature and his soul to God. 



74 CONFEDEKATE WoMEN OF ARKANSAS 

MISS barrington's bravery. 

But for a swingle deed of unsurpassed heroism, I recall a 
most thrilling incident in the life of a young lady, Miss Mat 
Barrington of north Arkansas. She lived with her aged mother 
a few miles from Fayetteville, which town was at this time occu- 
pied as a post by the Federal troops. A scouting party from the 
post had gone out into the country on the pitiless mission of 
harassing and plundering. At the home of Mrs. Barrington they 
swept everything in the smokehouse and emptied the larder. The 
last article was a bag of coffee ("Lincoln coffee," as it was 
known in those days). A broad-shouldered soldier seized upon 
this when the daughter raised complaint. She said: " I have 
stood by and watched you take all the rest without objecting, but 
the coffee my old mother needs above everything else, and I ask 
you to leave it." The soldier gave no heed to her request, but 
snatched up the bag and was making for the door, when she 
rushed for an iron poker and dealt him such a blow that he fell 
limp to the floor. As soon as he could recover himself he fled 
from the house leaving the coffee behind. 

In a brief time the story of her deed reached the ears of 
friends in the remoter Dixie. The boys in gray at once voted 
that such a splendid triumph should not go unrewarded, and in 
due time there came to her a most magnificent saddle horse, 
with a tribute to her bravery. 

The lady still lives, doubtless with her brown curls all sil- 
vered and wearing another name, but without the power or 
inclination to get away from the story of the bluecoat, the bag 
of coffee, the poker and the saddle horse. 



MISS McSWEENY AS A CONFEDERATE SPY, 
OF FORT SMITH. 

Bij J. M. Liicey. 
When the federal general, Blimt, occupied Fort Smith late 
in 1863-4 and General W. L. Cabell retired from the city to 
Devil's Backbone, IS miles distant, the intermediate territor}^ 
became the raiding ground of both amiies. A family named 
McSweeney lived near the public road, about lialf way between 
the two places. It was composed of a widow, her two daughters, 
Mattie and Mollie, aged about 18 and 12, respectively, and a son, 
Peter, aged about 20. The last named was in Caljell's brigade. 
Miss Mattie visited Fort Smith twice a week at irregular inter- 
vals, according as her escort, a young federal lieutenant, could 
arrange for an absence. She was under suspicion at Blunt's 
headquarters , but confidence was placed in the detective powers 
of the lieutenant. 

SOMETHING ON HIS MIND 

One instance of her tact will be narrated out of several. On 
this occasion there seemed to be something on the lieutenant's 
mind which he was anxious to get off. There was two things 
on Miss Mattie's mind, tin cups and frying pans. News had 
been brought to her from Cabell's camp that tin cups and frying 
pans were badly needed. The gold that had been concealed 
for months in soldiers' belts was brought forth, so that there 
might be no delay on the score of money. 

On this trip Miss Mattie stopped at the home of the writer';5 
father, where his sisters and other ladies quickly arranged to 
make the purchases, as it would not do for Miss Mattie to buy 
the articles. In a few hours everything was secured and deftly 
fastened to her underclothing. Miss Mattie had made a special 
request that a negro driver would take her home, the lieutenant 
riding on horseback as an escort until the pickets were passed. 
What was the horror of all concerned when the buggy was driven 
up by the lieutenant ! 

Could it mean that a discovery was made? Captured as a 



76 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

spy would mean death to her and imprisonment to all concerned. 

THE OFFICER HOODWINKED 

A hasty council of war was held by the ladies and they came 
to the conclusion that there was notliing to it. One of the 
ladies went to hold the horse and the another induced the officer 
to enter the house for a lemonde, while the others were transfer- 
ring the tin cups and frying pans to the other side from where 
he would ride. How the young lady got well fixed in the buggy 
before the officer came out^ how they passed the time so that 
there would be no jingling and how her little sister effected a 
ruse by which Miss Mattie was enabled to make a safe landing 
are all matters of local history. 

SEARCHING REFUGEES 

Another kind of heroism was brought into existence when 
it became necessary in the eyes of the federal commander to send 
the wives of Confederate soldiers or sympathizers beyond the 
lines. An officer would come to the house with an old negro 
woman. The trunks, traveling bags and even the clothing worn 
were to be searched for contraband goods. The main point of 
the lady friends of the refugees was to cajole the officer, molly- 
coddle him, and get the negfo woman drunk. The residence of 
the Miller family, one of whom. Miss Adelaide, married Wm. M. 
Fishback, governor of the state at one time, was a favorite place 
of departure. The ladies would never give out the secrets of 
those occasions, and it was not for many years safe to do so, but it 
is known that midst the sadness and sorrows of farewells there 
were interestinoj events. 



John C. Breckenridge tells the following joke at the ex- 
pense of Humphreys Marshall, of Kentucky, who would have 
been a promising candidate for president of a fat man^s club : 

When General Pegram was preparing to march into Ken- 
tucky, Marshall warned him not to come, and finally sent word 
thiat any troops that attempted to enter Kentucky would have 
to pass over his dead body. Pegram replied: 

"The feat that you suggest would be too mucli to expect of 
my artillery, but if I find the obstacle in the way, I will be com- 
pelled to tunnel through." 



A SKETCH OF MRS. SALLIE WALLACE 
RUTHERFORD. 

Bif Mrs. Emilise Dowd, of Fort Smith. 

Sallie Wallace, daughter of Dr. Wallace and Jane Perry 
Butler, was born at Greenville, S. C, in 1837, and moved to 
Ft. Gibson, 1. T., then a frontier post near Fort Smith, Ark., 
in 1849, when her father was appointed by Pres. Taylor agent 
for the Cherokee Indians. 

Upon the death of Dr. Butler, Mrs. Butler moved to 
Fayetteville, Ark., in order that her children might have the 
educational advantages for wliich, even at that time, Fayette- 
ville was justly famous; and there in 1854, Sallie Wallace was 
married to Eobt. B. Rutherford of Fort Smith, who had just 
graduated from The University school, together with many 
others who afterward achieved distinction in the service of their 
State. 

Mr. and Mrs. Eutherford moved to Lewisville, Ark., just 
prior to the Civil war, and when the men were called to the 
defense of their State and Southland Mrs. Eutherford, like 
most Southern women, was left to provide and care for her 
family, and with it all to give abundantly of her little to a 
himgry or distressed Confederate soldier. 

Her cheerful self reliance and Monderful strength of 
character, inherited from her Scotch and English ancestry, 
through the New England mother and Cavalier father, stood her 
in good hand now during these dark and perilous times and the 
yet darker ones of the Eeconstruction period. 

Mrs. Eutherford has always felt the deepest interest in all 
that affects her adopted State and* no woman in its borders 
enjoys to a higher degree the love and respect of all who know 
her. She is not only the possessor of a happy and optimistic 
nature, but of a rare and practical intellect, which has made 
her for years an important factor in church and philanthropic 



78 C'ON FEDERATE WoMEN OF ARKANSAS 

enterprizes in Fort Smith and particularly is siie always inter- 
ested in matters concerning the Sovitli. 

In her old age she remains a true daughter of the Old South, 
and to quote her own words is "Unreconstructed still." She 
finds much pleasure in recalling the days of 1861-65 at Fort 
Smith, when the sewing circle and daily visits to the temporary 
hospitals took up all her time. 

Mrs. Beard, mother of Willie Beard, a C'onfederate Soldier, 
was frequently lier companion and is very happily remembered 
by the old soldiers. Mrs. Sophy Kannady, Mrs. J. K. McKen- 
sie, the Gookan girls, and many others were among those who 
bore a distinguished part in passing events. 



JEFFERSON DAVIS' SUGGESTED INSCRIPTION 

FOR MONUMENT TO WOMEN OF 

CONFEDERACY. 

(This inscription is practically Jefferson Davis' dedication 
of his "Rise and Fall of the Confederate Grovernnient," but 
somewhat altered.) 

TO THE WOMEN OF THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY. 

Whose loving ministrations nursed the wounded to health. 
And soothed the last hours of the dying; 

Whose unselfish labors 
Supplied the wants of their defenders in the field. 
Whose unwavering faith in our cause 

Showed ever a guiding star, 
Through the perils and disasters of war; 

Whose sublime fortitude 
Sustained them under every privation and all suffering; 

Whose floral offerings 
Are yearly laid upon the graves of those 

Whom they still honor and love; 
and 

A\niose i>atriotism 
Will teach their children 
To emulate the deeds of their Confederate sires. 
But who with a modesty excelled only by their worth 

Have ever discouraged 
This tribute to their noble virtues. 



A SKETCH OF MRS. SOPHIA KANNADY, A 
HEROINE OF FORT SMITH. 

By W. J. Weaver, of Fort Sniitli. 

Mrs Sophy Kanady was born in Fort Gibson, Indian Ter- 
ritory, in 183G. She was the daughter of Aaron and Rebecca 
Barling, who came to Fort Smith when this post was established 
by Col. Long in 1817, but who removed to Fort Gibson when 
that post was established by the government several years after- 
ward. When she was two years old her parents returned to 
Arkansais, and her father purciiased a farm about eight miles 
east of Fort Smith. This farm is still in possession of the 
Barling family. Xot far from the home and upon the road 
leading to Little Eock was, and is yet, a spring of strong sulphur 
water. The Barling home was a favorite stopping place for trav- 
elers in the ante-bellum days and in summer time it was often 
a resort for people who wished to spend a few weeks in the invig- 
orating air of the country. Young beaux and their sweethearts 
would often ride from the town to Barling's Spring on Sunday 
afternoons or at such times as might suit their convenience and 
pleasure. The doors of the old fashioned country home were 
always open, and visitors were always sure of a hearty welcome 
fiom its inmates. 

It may not be uninteresting to note an incident that occur- 
red in the early life of Miss Barling, while she was acquiring an 
education. There were no public schools in Arkansas in those 
days. The private schools were few and far between, and in them 
were taught only the elementary branches of instruction. Miss 
Barling's parents were determined on giving her more of an 
education than the limited facilities of the country afforded, and 
after she had acquired about all there was to be obtained in Fori 
Smith, determined upon sending her to a school taught by Pro- 
fessor Maro for young ladies, in St. Louis. On lier trip to what 
is now the great metropolis of the Southwest, but which was 
then a comparatively small town, she rode from Fort Smith to 



80 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

Neosho^ Mo., on horseback. From there she rode the remainder 
of the way in a buggy, and upon arriving in St. Louis entered 
the school and remained there 18 months. This was in 1839. 

Eetuming home after the finishing touches had been placed 
upon her scholastic life, she remained under the parental roof 
until 1847 when she was married to Jerre E,. Kannady, the mar- 
riage ceremony being conducted by Rev. C. C. Townsend, the 
first clergyman of the Episcopal church that ever officiated 
in Fort Smith. Mr. Kannady was a native of Pennsylvania 
and came to this country in 1835. 

From the date of their marriage until the blighting hand 
of Northern aggression fell upon the Southern states, Mr. and 
Mrs. Kanady lived a life of contentment and happiness. Mr. 
Kannady opened a blacksmith and wagon shop, to which was 
afterwards added a grist mill and a sawmill. Business pros- 
pered and money came rapidly, but it never remained long in 
the hands of this worthy and lovable couple — it went really 
faster than it came for their doors were ever open and their 
table ever free to all who called. They kept "open house" to all 
from the time they moved into their one-story log house with 
its' big chimney at one end and its wide hallway from front 
to rear until after the close of the war. They had no children 
of their own, but they cared for the children of others, for rel- 
atives less fortunate than themselves in the accumulation of 
this world's goods, and for others who were not relatives hundreds 
of whom were the recipients of their benevolence and charity. 
Mr. Kannady passed away April 35, 1883, mourned by every- 
body who knew him, and since that time his widow has lived a 
quiet life, surrounded by relatives and friends, her declining 
years sweetened by the kind attentions of those who knew her 
in the olden times — the times upon wliich her tenderest memories 
dwell. 

The most strenuous (to us a popular nowaday's phrase) 
period of Mrs. Kannady's life was doubtless embraced in the four 
years of the war for Southern independence. She was busy every 
moment of that time, discharging not only the duties of her 
home life but working night and day for the comfort of the 




Mrs. Sophia Kannady 



A Sketch of Mrs. Sophia Kannady 81 

Confederate soldier. Perhaps a few of the most stirring scenes 
through which she passed can best be given in her own words, 
as related to the writer. 

"The war was a trying time for all, women as well as men. 
Of course while the men had hardships and dangers of the 
battlefield and camp-life to confront, the women had no less 
laborious and trying tasks to perform. They had to care for 
the sick and aged, the destitute women and children whose 
husbands and fathers were in the field, and had to do much in 
taking care of the sick and wounded soldiers, and- 0, how 
much suffering they witnessed. 

"Tlie first sign we had of real war" says Mrs Kannady, 
was when the State troops came up from Little Rock to capture 
Fort Smith, then under command of Capt. Sturgis. They came 
on boats. At Van Buren they divided, some of them proceeding 
upon the boats and the others marching into town over the 
road leading from Van Buren to Fort Smith. The regular 
troops were in the garrison. Capt. Sturgis was notified by the 
telegraph operator at Van Buren of the approach of the State 
forces, and caused the "long roll" to be sounded. That was 
the first time I had ever heard it. We had working for us a 
couple of men who had formerly been in the regular army, 
and they became very much excited. One of them rushed out 
of the house and looked up and down Garrison Avenue to 
see what was coming. "Ah, Mrs. Kannady," said he, "that 
means danger." But these men were not the only people 
in the town who were excited. We were all excited, for we did 
not know but that a battle would take place right at our own 
doors. But no danger resulted from the approach of the State 
troops, for Sturgis left the town that night, going out the 
Texas road and on to Fort Washita. 

"Another time we had a bad scare, or a stampede, as we 
called it, was one night when a number of "Pin" or Federal 
Indians crossed the river. We were greatly alarmed, for there 
were but few Confederate troops here at the time. Officers 
gallopped about the streets shouting that the "Pins" were 
ravaging the country around the town and calling upon the 
men to arm themselves and turn out. The women and children 



VI 



82 Confederate WoME>r of Arkansas 

were frantically urged to go into the garrison. All the build- 
ings in the garrison were at that time filled with sick and 
wounded soldiers, which added to the distress and confusion, 
as we did not know but what they would all be murdered. The 
"Pins" however, did no further harm than to burn George Min- 
mire's house about three miles north of town. 

"As soon as the war began the ladies of the town organized 
sewing societies to make clothing for the soldiers. We met at 
first in the Methodist Church. We would work all day long, 
making coats, jackets, pants, tents, wagon sheets, haversacks 
and such things, and at night we would knit socks. I was a 
cutter, and cut hundreds and hundreds of suits for soldiers 
and officers. We would also scrape lint and make bandages for 
the woimded. Later on we had to give up the church for use 
as a hospital, and then we met in different houses, or did the 
sewing in our own homes. Many of the women worked in 
their homes at making cartridges. Later in the war the work 
became more trying and the scenes were awful. Sick men from 
the surrounding armies and wounded men from the battlefields 
\»ere brought in. The old red mill near the head of Garrison 
Avenue, lately torn down, was used as a hospital, so was Bright's 
store, Sutton's store on the corner of Garrison Avenue and 
Second Street, the Methodist and Presbyterian Churches, and 
in fact all the vacant houses in the town were used to shelter 
the sick and wounded. All the quarters in the garrison also 
contained sick and wounded soldiers. Besides this, many 
families in town took sick and wounded men into their homes 
and cared for them until they either got well or died. The 
Episcopal and Catholic Churches were not used as hospitals. 
Much of our time then was taken up in preparing food for the 
hospitals and in taking care of the sick and wounded. We 
would go to the hospitals and sometimes wash and dress the 
patients and care for their wounds. This was awful work, and 
sometimes it would keep us in the hospital all day. Eveiy empty 
house in the town was filled with the wounded after the battle 
of Oak Hill. Jerre and I kept open house all this time, treat- 
ing officers, privates and refugees all alike. One day shortly 
after the battle of Oak Hill we fed forty people. I remember 



Sketch of Mrs. Sophia Kaxxady 83 

that fo^ir Texas soldiers came one day and told me they wanted 
something to eat. Dinner was over and I told them I did not 
believe I had anything for them, but I got them up a dinner 
and they ate heartily. When they got ready to leave they 
laid five dollars in gold upon the table. I refused to take it. 
They insisted, and told me that had they known I would tak^e 
no pay for the meal they would not have come. I did not take 
it, however, and told them that I never charged anybody for 
a meal. 

Those were awful times too, after the battles of Elk Horn 
and Prairie Grove. Generals McCulloch and Mcintosh were 
killed at Elk Horn, and General Steen was killed at Prairie 
Grove. General McCulloch's body was brought to Fort Smith 
and then sent to Texas. Generals Mcintosh and Steen were 
buried here in what is now the Xational Cemetary. 

•*I believe the greatest danger I was in during the war, was 
when Mr. Kannady and I were captured by Captain Hart and 
his gang of Federal bushwhackers as we were returning from 
Texas. This was in January, 1863. We had gone to Texas 
earlier in the year, and on our way home we were ca2>tured 
near Big Creek, about twenty miles from Fort Smith. On 
the day before. Hart and his gang killed Col. DeRosey Carrol 
and Mr. Sam Richardson. It was raining very hard at the 
time and was rery cold. Hart lifted me off of my horse. He 
was a fine looking man, and while he robbed us of our team, 
provisions and ever^-thing else we had, he did not cause me to 
be searched, nor did he take my horse. There was a house near 
the place where we were captured, and as it was raining hard 
I wanted to go to it. Hart told me I might go, but when I 
requested that Jerre might go with me, he said no. After that 
I would not leave Jerre's side, for from the way they acted 
and from what they said I was satisfied they intended to kill him. 
Some of Hart's men said they were going to hang Jerre, and I 
am certain they would have done so, had it not been for a negro 
who interceded for his life. I believe he would have hung both 
of us but for this negro. This negro, by the way, had been at 
the battle of Oak Hill, where he was wounded. I had in mv 



84 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

pocket a revolver in which there were two loads, and I intended, 
if Jerre had been hung, to kill Hart and then kill myself. Jerre 
recognized several of the men in Hart's gang. They lived in 
the Vache Gras country, and before he left for Texas Jerre 
had supplied their families with meal and bacon to keep them 
from starving while their husbands were bushwhacking. The 
man who boasted to the negro that "Jerre Kannady would never 
see Fort Smith again" was a man to whom Mr. Kannady had, 
some time before, issued provisions. This shows what kind of 
people they were. 

"After Hart had decided not to hang my husband he placed 
us in a house belonging to a man named Coffey, who lived about 
five miles from Big Creek, where M'e were kept from Tuesday 
until the following Friday. Several Confederate soldiers whom 
Hart had captured were there at the same time. Hart did not 
harm these men, but when he went away put them upon parole. 
Some time during the last night we stayed at Coffey's some- 
body came to the house and told Jerre that he had ])etter get 
away from there as soon as he could, and the next morning 
we left. Jerre hired two ponies, and these, with my horse and 
the horse of the faithful negro, got us back to Fort Smith. 
There were ten inches of snow on the ground when we started. 
A few days after this, Hart was captured at Smedley's mill and 
brought to Fort Smith, where he was tried, convicted and 
hanged. 

"Jerre was ver}^ busy with his mills and blacksmith shop 
for a long time after the war began. Among the things he 
mad,e were one thousand knives for Standwatie's Cherokee 
Brigade. These knives were made of large files and had wooden 
handles. I have one of them now. He also made about two- 
thousand powder horns, and I don't know how many drinking 
cups. The cups were made of horns sawed into proper size, 
with wooden bottoms. He also made a great many pipes, and 
there is no telling what he did make. There was a good supply 
of iron in the shop and the mills were stocked with looms, 
spinning wheels, and other articles which had been made there, 
when the Federals came in, all of which the Federals seized. 




Genl. W. L. Cabell Mrs. IV. L. Cabell 

Mrs. Katie Cabell Muse 



Sketch of Mrs. Sophia Kannady 85 

"When the Federals came, September 1, 1863, we went to 
Texas, leaving the night before Cloud's regiment arrived. We 
bought a home in Bonham. I went nearly all over Texas while 
we lived there. Mr, Kannady was appointed by the government 
to establish mills and blacksmith shops for the Confederate 
government, and whenever he went off on one of his trips T 
we'nt with him. We came back to Fort Smith in 1865." 



CAPTAIN SALLY TOMPKINS. 

Southern women have cared little for public honors nor 
have they courted masculine titles. But a recent number of the 
Eichmond Times-Dispatch recalls the pleasant bit of history that 
in the case of Miss Sallie Tompkins a remarkable honor was de- 
servedly conferred upon a worthy Virginia girl by the Confed- 
erate authorities. 

While yet a very young woman Miss Tompkins used her 
ample means to establish in Richmond a private hospital for 
Confederate soldiers. She not only provided for its support at 
her own expense, but devoted her time to tlie work of nurs- 
ing the patients. 

The wounded were brought into the city by the hundreds 
and there was hardly a private house without its quota of sick 
and wounded. Quite a number of private hospitals were estab- 
lished but, unlike Miss Tompkins' splendid institution, charges 
were made by some of them for services rendered. In course 
of time abuses grew with the system, and General Lee ordered 
that they all be closed — all except the hospital of Miss Tomp- 
kins. This was recognized as too helpful to the Confederate 
cause to be abolished. 

In order to preserve it, it had to be brought under gov- 
ernment control, and to do this General Lee ordered a commis- 
sion as captain in the Confederate army to be issued to Miss Sal- 
lie Tompkins. Though a government hospital from that time 
on, Captain Tompkins conducted it as before, paying its ex- 
penses out of her private purse. 

The veterans are proud of her record, and a movement is 
now on foot among them to place Captain To^mpkins in a posi- 
tion of independence as long as she lives. 



A SKETCH OF MRS. W. L. CABELL, OF FORT 
SMITH. 

By Her Husband, Lieutenant-General W. L. Cabell 
Eev. J. M. Lucey: — 

I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your truly kind 
letter. It makes me feel, in my old age, that my sainted wife 
and myself still have friends who remember them in their 
young days, and I will try and comply with your request. 

Mrs. Harriette Amanda Cabell was Miss Harriette Amanda 
Rector, daughter of Major Elias and Catherine Eector, of Fort 
Smith, Arkansas. Col. Rector was IT. S. Indian agent and 
subsequently U. S. Marshall. She was born the 3rd of June, 
1837, and when a babe was given the name of "Shingo" by the 
Old Head Chief of the Osage Indians, Claremore. She was 
always called by that name until the day of her death. She was 
educated early at her old home school and graduated at the 
Sacred Heart Academy, at St. Louis, Mo. She was a great 
favorite with her classmates as well as with all who knew 
her, being noted for her great wit, and sweet, pretty manners. 
She was reigning belle of Arkansas and had many admirers 
before her marriage to Lieutenant William L. Cabell, of the 
7th Regiment United States Infantry, July 22, 1856, Soon 
after their marriage, Lieutenant Cabell carried his Ijride to 
Fort Gibson, in the Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory, and liv- 
ed at diiferent forts on the frontier until the war between the 
States, when she went to Virginia, in April 1861, with her hus- 
band. 

She blessed her husband with seven children, two dying as 
infants. Four sons and one daughter grew to womanhood and 
manhood. Three sons and one daughter now live to bless the 
memory of their sainted mother. 

Mrs. Shingo Cabell was one of the sweetest and most intel- 
lectual women of the South. She was a woman of great common 
sense and of remarkable firmness of character, with a heart full 
of love and affection. She was above all things a true Southern 
woman, in fact one of the queens of the South, and so proud of 



Sketch of Mrs. W. L. Cabell 87 

the Confederacy, and the Confederate soldier, that she never fail- 
ed to administer to the wounded and comfort the dying. She 
would not enter in any social gatherings during the war, but 
devoted her time and that of her servants to preparing lint ban- 
dages, knitting socks and sending them to the soldiers. 

At one time when I was a prisoner of war. General McGruder 
gave a ball in Washington, Hempstead county, Arkansas, and 
sent a special invitation to Mrs. Cabell to attend. She wrote 
him a very polite note declining, stating that he had better look 
after the comfort of nearly two hundred badly wounded soldiers 
of Cabell's Brigade; and take the money to be expended at the 
ball and buy condiments and other necessaries for the comforts 
of the wounded and dying; that she would devote all her time 
to the sick and wounded soldier until her husband returned, if 
it was to the day of her death. 

Those were the sentiments that made her beloved by the 
Confederate soldier. She was a woman of great firmness, as 
brave as a lion, and at the same time as gentle as a lamb. No 
one knew her but to love her. She belonged to a number of char- 
itable associations and was always doing good in her home in 
Arkansas and her home in Texas. So much was siie "beloved by 
the Arkansas soldiers that they would cheer her on all public 
occasions whenever she made her appearance. 

She died on the IGth of April, 1887, while on a visit to her 
friends and relatives in iVrkansas. She was brought back and 
buried in the cemetery in Dallas, Texas, in the presence of two- 
thirds of the citizens of Dallas. She was laid gently in her tomb 
covered with flowers. Her children have erected a monument 
over the grave and on one side is engraved in beautiful letters 
the name "Shingo" Cabell." 

Your friend, 

W. L. CABELL 

DID IT HEKSELF. 

An incident was related to the writer in 1863 at Fort Smiih, 
where Mrs. Cabell had her home, which illustrates her strength 
of character and her ready wit. General Cabell was reported to 
be very sick at Clarksville, Ark. Some ladies went to her one 
day and said: "Oh, Mrs. Cabell, Ave have heard some awful 



88 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

things and we think we ought to tell you. General Cabell is 
very sick in the Clarksville hospital and what do you tliink, sev- 
eral young ladies who were waiting on him fell in love with 
him. The consequences may be terrible." Mrs. Cabell replied: 
"Is that all, ladies ? Why I cannot see how those young ladie< 
could have done otherwise than fall in love with General Cabell, 
I did it myself." J. M. L. 

The day after her marriage at Fort Smith, July 22, 1856, 
Mrs. Cabell yielded to urgent solicitation and had her picture 
taken. It was a daguerreot\'pe, and this is the only instance 
when she would consent to have an^- form of picture taken. 
When General Cabell was captured, 1864, and carried as a pris- 
oner to Johnson Island, a small photo was made from the old 
daguerreotype and sent to him. It reached him safely and was 
the most cherished thing that he had in his prison life. He 
was reluctant, even now, to part with it for a few days, but con- 
sented to allow it to be used for the cut that appears in this 
book, so that the face of his beloved wife might have a place 
among the loved and loving Arkansas Daughters of the Con- 
federacy. 

Mrs. Katie Cabell Muse, only daughter of General and Mrs. 
Cabell, has been a prominent figure in all the women's move- 
ments for the preservation of the glories of the Confederacy. 
In 1877, she was elected ^STational President of the U. D. C. 
organization at Baltimore, Md., and in 1898, at Hot Springs. 
Ark., she was re-elected by acclamation. 



SOCKS THAT NEVER WORE OUT 

General Gordan tells of a simple-hearted country Confeder- 
ate woman who gave a striking idea of the straits to which our 
people were reduced later in the war. She explained that her 
sion's only pair of socks did not wear out. because, said she: 
"When the feet of the socks get full of holes, I just knit new 
feet to the tops, and when the tops wear out I just knit new 
tops to the feet." 



SKETCH OF JUDGE ROGERS AND FAMILY, OF 
FORT SMITH. 

John Henry Eogers, soldier, lawyer, Congressman, and 
jurist, was born on a plantation near Roxobel, Bertie County, 
N. C, October 9, 1845, the third child of Absalom, and Harriet 
Rogers, and grandson of William Rogers, a farmer and mechanic, 
who lived and reared a family of twelve children in Pitt County, 
N. C. His father was a wealthy planter before the war, but, 
being deprived of his slaves and everytliing but his land, was 
reduced to poverty by that disaster. 

In March, 1863, he was mustered into the Ninth Regiment, 
Mississippi Infantry, at Canton, Miss., as a private. In the 
battle of Munfordville (Green River,) Ky., he was wounded 
while charging the enemy's breastworks. He was subsequently 
in the battles of Murfreesboro (Stone River,) Term., Chick 
amauga, Ga., Mission Ridge, near Chattanooga, Tenn., and 
Resaca, Ga. He was in the engagements, before Atlanta, Julv 
26 and 28, 1864, and was wounded at Jonesboro, Ga., in Septem- 
ber, 1864. He fought at Franklin, Tenn., November 30, 1864, 
and at Nashville, Tenn., December 15, 1864. In April, 1865, 
although but nineteen years of age, he was promoted by special 
order of General Johnston to rank of first lieutenant, and he 
commanded Company F of the Ninth Mississippi Regiment 
until the capitulation of Johnstons army. 

His address before the general reunion of United Con- 
federate Veterans at New Orleans, May, 1903, is considered the 
best one ever given before that body. Several thousand copies 
were distributed. 

Judge Rogers was married October 9, 1873, to Mary Gray, 
only daughter of Dr. Theodore Dunlap and Ehzabeth Gray, of 
Danville, Ky. Four sons and one daughter are living, their 
first child, Theodora, having died at the age of two years. 
Miss Bessie Rogers was married October 24, 1905, to Mr. Ray 
Meredith Johnston, of Fort Smith, x^rk. Both mother and 
daughter have taken great interest in all that relates to the Lost 
Cause, and are entitled to very much consideration by the old 
veterans. Modesty has prevented them from giving a sketch of 
their many good acts. 



HUSBAND AND FIVE BROTHERS IN THE WAR. 

By Mrs. Mahaley Pollard, of Gray. 

My husband and five brothers joined the Confederate army 
from my old home in Alabama, and I was left with six small 
children to support. My husband was severely wounded at Shi- 
loh, where so many Arkansas soldiers lost their lives. My 
husband, B. M. Pollard, joined Company D., Twenty-second 
Alabama regiment in 1861, and surrendered at Ealiegh, N. C, in 
1865. He was in the battles of Shiloh, Vicksburg, Chickamau- 
ga. Stone Mountain, Murfreesboro, and others, almost all tha 
time under General Joe Johnston. He died five years after the 
close of the war. I am now 69 years old and a widow for 38 
years. In 1881 we moved to Woodruff county, Arkansas. 

ROUGH TIMES DURING THE WAR 

I had a hard time in the war period, as the JS'orthern soldiers 
took everything that I had or destroyed what they could not carry 
off. They emptied my feather beds and pillows and killed my 
cows and hogs, leaving me nothing. How little those rough sol- 
diers thought of the hardships they were infiicting upon women 
and children. If they imagined such cruel privations as they 
generally forced upon Southern women would have the effect of 
discouraging them from working in the aid of the Confederacy, 
they were sadly mistaken. Our soldiers acted bravely on the 
field of battle and we women tried to be worthy of them. 



FEDERAL RAIDERS AND THEIR CRUELTIES. 

By Mrs. J. B. Crump, of Harrison. 

The border of north Arkansas was during the war a thea- 
ter of tragedy. The Union men, as they were called, were in 
the minority, and left their homes to "go back and forth," 
and thereby inaugurate a system of warfare against the de- 
fenseless families whose men folks were enlisted on the other 
side. 

Four decades have passed since those times of peril, and 
criticisms are unnecessary on the conduct of those who, from 
principle or provocation, refused to espouse the cause of the 
Confederacy.- 

But with the purpose unbiased save by love for our native 
heath, I have gathered from hills and valleys authentic records 
of those who shared in our common dangers, trials and priva- 
tions. 

To preserve these acts of heroism is to cultivate a noble 
sentiment that idealizes the principle and love of the cause that 
prompted those acts and to save from oblivion (for the benefit 
of future generations) unimpeachable facts as yet untouched 
by history. 

'Twas in the fall of '63, directly after the surrender of the 
Confederate forces in Little Rock, Ark., when Price had gone 
South, that Crooked Creek was a temporary rendezvous for a 
band of lawless refugees. 

DEFENSELESS HOME ATTACKED, 

Under tlie cover of night a party attacked the defense- 
less home of John Bailey, who was infirm with age. 

With bitter curses and angry comjnands they aroused the 
sleeping family, consisting of Mr. Bailey, his delicate wife and 
only daughter, and demanded admission. 

The sons of the family (all brave soldiers in the Confed- 
erate army) had their clothes packed in saddlebags ready to 



92 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

follow Price at their first opportunity, and the motlier and 
sister well knew that access to their apartments meant the 
loss of clothing for the rebels. 

"Make a light or we'll make one for you," blurted out a 
gTutf voice from the front piazza. 

"Ring the bell, mother," whispered the daughter, "as if 
the boys are in hearing, while I engage the attention of those 
in front of the house." 

The fearless mother rang the bell until the very night air 
seemed full of warning to the startled intruders. 

"Shut up your infernal ringing there; I'll not be thwarted 
by an old woman," said the leader of this ruffian band and, 
seizing the frail little mother, he threw her full length in the 
yard below, where she lay as if lifeless. 

BRUTAL ACT REPAID IN KIND. 

The daughter, who had adroitly been "killing time," by 
pretending to take from the candle molds a candle with which 
to furnish a light, heard her mother shriek, saw the atrocious 
act, saw her mother apparently dead from his cruelty, then un- 
hesitatingly confronted the would-be assassin with a desperation 
bom of despair, 

"You scoundrel ! See, you have killed my mother !" and 
scarcely were the words spoken when she rushed forward to 
the edge of the piazza, where the outlaw was standing, and dealt 
him a blow across the eyes with the unemptied candle molds 
that sent him staggering backward. Wildly clutcliing at the 
railing he went down to the ground, to be carried away by his 
comrades from the scene of action, a "wiser if not a better 
man." 

Mrs. Bailey suffered much from her fall, but her life was 
spared to see her four sons, "bronzed and battle scarred," 
return home when war and its strife were over. 

And in offering this simple tribute to womanly courage 
we feel assured that duty had no more ardent votaries or the 
"lost cause" more devoted champions than these two brave 
women. 



TWO BRAVE WOMEN. 

By Mrs. J. B. Crump, of Ilamson. 

There are heroines on our north Arkansas border witliout 
laurels on their brows, and martyrs "in whose hands are no 
palms" that went through physical hardships, isolation and disr 
tress and to whom our late war is as a terrible dream. 

The smoke from the charred ruins of their only earthly 
habitations — the terror-stricken faces of the homeless, starving 
children, are singularly confused now — but the time was when 
these same privations whetted the edge of their mental natures, 
until their ingenuity and invention were almost unsurpassed. 

Hundreds of miles from a railroad or telegraph, and men- 
aced by a lawlessness that lived by terrorism to women and chil- 
dren, these heroines were made self-reliant through danger and 
inbued with a courage rarely equaled. 

WOMEX AXD CHILDKEX MADE CROPS. 

The cultivation of land, or a scanty living from the hills 
and valleys of this border, was made through much difficulty 
by women and children. It was in the spring and summer of 
'64 that Mrs. Parker, (now living in Boone county, Ark.,) made 
with the assistance of her little boy, a good corn crop for that 
day and time. The yoke of steers Avdth which Mrs. Parker 
trudged early and late, were taken from her time and again, 
but through persistent appeals to the federal officers she was 
allowed to keep them until her corn was "laid by." 

After days of watching and working the crop was gather- 
ed and stored away in a pen (Mrs. Parker had made it herself 
of rails in the woods.) 

But as the scarcity of food demande<l a more thorough 
investigation on the part of the enemy, this noble woman dug 
with her own hands a hole in which she placed a hogshead that 
held twelve bushels of com. 



94 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

saved all her corn. 

From the pen in the "w^oods she carried the corn, shelled 
it and filled the hogshead, which she covered so dextrously witli 
dirt and leaves that even she had some difficulty in finding her 
buried treasure. 

In spite of the stories circulated by a traitorous tenant 
who had shared her bread and partaken of her kindness, Mrs. 
Parker kept the corn unmolested until Confederates came home 
"in the gloom of defeat.'' 

And during .the spring peace was made. Small allowances 
from the underground hogshead were issued to the starving 
neighbors by this kind-hearted woman. 

Jealously did she guard this "trust fund" and not a grain 
was squandered or lost, but went as a blessing to succor the 
perishing at her door. 



PRIVATIONS BORNE WITH A SMILE. 

By Mrs. De Fontaine. 

"The boys at the front were the first consideration. After 
their wants were supplied, only what was left could be utilized 
by those at home. To do* without was part of a Southern wom- 
an's religion. 

"One velvet jacket came out triumphant at the end of the 
war, having done heroic duty for five girls of the family on all 
festive occasions. 

"If there were two girls in the family, we went out sing- 
ly, in order that the same dress might do double duty. We 
borrowed, loaned, patched, lengthened, shortened, tuimed and 
twisted our garments until there was nothing left of them. 

"A RICHMOND belle at a party, usually the gayest of the 
gay, was asked why she was not dancing. 'Dancing,' she said, 
'Good heavens, I am only too thankful that I can breathe. I 
don't even dare to laugh for fear I should burst this girl's dress 
to pieces and it is all she has. 

"In the ab.'ience of men, the women undertook their du- 
ties, and m'any a fine crop was planted and harvested by them. 

"Two Georgia women did what no otlier woman in the 
world has been credited with — cleaned out a well, and did 
it well." 



HUSBAND KILLED AT SHILOH. 

By Mrs. Anna Mitchell, of Huvana. 

My husband and oldest brother joined the Tenth Arkansas 
Regiment near Quitman. C. E. Merrick was colonel and Witt 
(afterward colonel) and W. W. Martin of Conway were cap- 
tains. The regiment camped near home two or three weeks 
and we felt so proud of them. We made our men red shirts, 
trimmed with black, and with white thread worked in "Quit- 
nmn Rifles." We covered their canteens the same way. I 
remembered covering one for Bob Bertrand of Little Rock. 

PROMISED TO "WTIIP THE YANKEES."' 

Our boys promised us that they would whip the Yankees 
right away and then come home and we would all have a fine 
time. We believed every word they said, and, loath as we were 
to give them up, we spoke our farewells bravely and waved in 
joy our little flags. We waited many a long day for their 
return ! 

WOMEN PLOWING. 

My father had a large family, aijd the only one able to 
work, my oldest brother, had joined the army. We had a hard 
time to keep body and soul together. The women plowed the 
field and planted and cultivated the corn. Some women had to 
walk five miles to a mill to get meal for their sack of corn, and 
frequently there was no meal, nothing but bran, which they 
cooked and ate. 

It was a common sight on the road to the mill to see two 
women on either side of a yearling calf that was harnessed to 
the front or rear part of a wagon, with a small load of com or 
wheat. Each woman held a line from the head of the yearling, 
and the work of the day was to induce the yearling to walk 
forward and not backward. 

SPINNING AND WEAVING. 

Mother and mvself never knew one dav what we would have 



96 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

to eat or wear the next. Spinning and weaving constantly was 
one part of our work. Wlien our homes began to look comforta- 
ble, the federal raiders would come and take horses, food and 
clothing. We had then to begin all things over again. 

My husband was killed at the battle of Shiloh, and the 
whole work of rearing the family fell upon me. Many times 
I grieved that I could not give them something good to eat, but 
it was only when they began to grow into manhood that their 
life became what I wished it to be. My three sons are now 
living, one a doctor, another a lawyer and another a merchant. 

EXTRAVAGANCE AND PRIDE OF THE YOUNG. 

The present generation thinks that the old folks are too 
economical in their ways. If they had gone through the war 
times they would not be so extravagant. Nor would they be 
working to place themselves above one another. In the old 
times all were on an equality. Those that never had to work 
had to learn very soon or do without much clothing. Then 
they were glad to get their poor neighbors to show them how 
to spin thread and weave cloth to make their dresses, and when 
they were made those fine ladies were just as proud of them as 
if they had the finest silk. 

PROUD OF BEING A SOUTHERN GIRL. 

In the war times we were proud of being Southern girls. 
We gloried in the name and felt greater pride in it than in 
glittering wealth or fame. Hurrah for the homespun dresses 
that our Southern women wore ! These goods were really nice, 
so that you could not always tell them from store goods, though 
we did not have ribbons and fringes to hide defects. My chil- 
dren, when they see this poor writing, may feel ashamed of 
their old mothers inability as a writer, but it will be the 
first time in their lives that they did not love what the old lady 
did. 



WEAVING JEANS FOR THE CONFEDERATES. 

By Mrs. M. C. Livingston, of Hope. 

I am now over 78 years old and am blessed with my second 
eyesight for the past three years, not needing glasses. When 
my husband enlisted in the Confederate army I was left with 
five children. My oldest child was 10 years old and the young- 
est six weeks. We were living upon a farm and nowthere was 
no one to make a crop for me. I hired the wheat sowed, raised 
my own meat and bought com. Two of my children learned 
to card and spin, and we gave many a yard of cloth for a bushel 
of com. 

WEAVING JEANS FOR CONFEDERATES. 

The soldiers needed clothing and the quartermasters would 
encourage the women to weave jeans and sell it to the govern- 
ment. In this way I managed to have a little money all the 
time. A Mr. Murphy used to tan leather and make our shoes, 
for which we would pay in jeans. 

SALT TEN DOLLARS A BUSHEL. 

Some men in Louisana made salt there and peddled it out 
in Arkansas at the rate of $10 a bushel. I was able to buy 
some every trip they made to my house. 

FEDERAL RAIDERS. 

It was a lonely time for me, with only my children for 
companions. How scared I was when tlie Federal raiders came 
the first time! They did not treat me as badly as they did 
several of my neighbors. They killed some of my cattle and 
took all my meat except a few middlings, having got all my 
honey, butter, eggs, and all the chickens that they could catch. 

My husband was not a strong man, and was frequently in 
the hospital. I wrote to him to keep all the money that he had 
to buy things for himself, and that I would take care of the 
family. For six months I did not hear from him, and I was in 
a fearful state of mind. 



98 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

no chuut^hes or schools. 
For two years I had no chance to attend a prayer meeting 
or go to church. I read my Bible and prayed the good Lord to 
forgive me if I was not serving him as I ought. There was no 
school, and I taught my children the common branches of an 
education. When my husband came home there was joy in the 
house. I have now been a widow for 31 years. The good Lord 
has blessed me and has made me unspeakably happy in so many 
ways that I am now contented and happy and just waiting for 
Him to call me home. 



GENERAL FORREST'S TRIBUTE. 

There is a story told by General Forrest which shows his 
opinion of the pluck and devotion of the Southern women. He 
was drawing up his men in line of battle one day, and it was 
evident that a sharp encounter was about to take place. Some 
ladies ran from a house which happened to stand just in front 
of his line, and asked him anxiously : "What shall we do. Gen- 
eral, what shall we do?" Strong in his faith that they only 
wished to help in some way, he replied, "I really don't see that 
you can do much, except to stand on stumps, wave your bon- 
nets and shout, 'Hurrah, Boys.' " 



"A young nurse in the Confederate hospital was noticed 
gazing thoughtfully at all there was left of her patient. 'I 
don't know what did make that man die,' she said, "for the 
doctor gave him some of all the medicine in the drug store.' " 



HOSPITAL WORK OF JUDGE JAMES GREEN AND 

WIFE. 

Bij Their Son, B. W. Green, of Little Rock. 
In the early spring of 1863, my parents were living in North 
Georgia near Dalton. They sold their plantation and began an 
overland journey with their negroes to Arkansas, where they' 
owned a cotton plantation in Hempstead county. Before the war 
between the states they had sent a part of their negroes in charge 
of two sons, to this State and they wished to unite their forces 
on this cotton plantation, but the movement of General Grant's 
army south from Memphis, made the risk of crossing the Miss- 
issippi river too great. My father. Judge James Green, was too 
old to enter the Confederate army but his heart was in the work, 
he having furnished six sons for the service and he therefore 
determined to offer his service to the Confederate States in 
hospital work. His services were accepted and he was assigned 
to duty at Tunnel Hill, Georgia, as superintendent of the hospi- 
tal. My mother had been accustomed to the ease and comfort 
which wealth affords, but seeing the great need for skillful niirs- 
ing in the hospital, she determined to undertake the post of Mat- 
ron under my father. She gave herself up wholly to this duty day 
and night to the end of the war. When Sherman advanced 
against Dalton the hospital was removed to South Georgia, 
and when Hood advanced into Tenessee the hospital was 
sent to Columbus, Mississippi. After the evacuation of 
Tennessee, the army being sent to North Carolina, the 
hospital was sent to Forsythe, Georgia, and remained 
there until the end of the war. My mother did not spare her- 
self when there was suffering and sick soldiers to be nursed; 
she went into the small-pox wards and where there were other 
contagious diseases without fear and with her own hands minis- 
tered to their wants. After one of our great battles had been 
fought there was a stream of wounded men who were sent from 
the front and cared for in the hospital by my parents. They 



100 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

had six boys in the line of gray, one in the trans-Mississippi 
department, four in the army of Tennessee, and one in Virginia, 
and in most every battle fought from Texas to Virginia one of 
her boys was in the line of battle. This constant anxiety of 
mind and tax upon her physical strength and sympathy finally 
broke down her superb constitution and she never fully regained 
her health ; yet she lived to be seventy-six years old, dying in the 
city of Hope, Arkansas, some years after the war ended. My 
father was treasurer of Hempstead county at the time of his 
death, which occurred before that of my mother. Their joint 
service in hospital work was a labor of love, for they served free 
of charge to the Confederate States. Nothing was too hard 
for them to undertake in order to save the lives of our soldier 
boys committed to their care. While hundreds were nursed back 
to life and health by their untiring efforts, yet many were the 
dying messages committed to them and transmitted to loved 
ones at home. No doubt there are hundreds of gray haired men 
in all parts of our Southland who remember with gratitude and 
thanks my mother's administrations at their sick bedside. She 
made the hospital brighter and more cheery by her presence, and 
when the angel of death came there came also hope and peace, 
for she ministered to their spiritual as well as their physical 
salvation. Can the value of her work be computed or known? 
Her reward shall be the grateful remembrance of her fellow 
countrymen and the assurance of her Saviour as He will say 
to her, "Inasmuch as you did it unto one of the least of these my 
brethren, you did it imto me." These lines are dedicated to 
her memory by one of her sons who loves to honor her patriotism 
and self-sacrificing conception of duty. 



SAVING A WATCH. 

A lady in Pendleton, possessor of a gold watch, during 
the war, when she heard that the "Yankees" were coming 
through Pendleton to destroy everything and bum all the 
houses, took her watch and wound her knitting thread around 
it. When they came she was quietly knitting, so the watch 
was saved. 



NARROW ESCAPE FROM FEDERAL PRISON. 

By Mrs. Sue L. James, of Rot Springs. 

The great Civil war opened its first tragedy on Saturday, 
April 13, 1861. A few minutes past 12 that morning an old 
Virginian, Edmund Ruffin, was granted the privilege of firing 
the first gun on Fori; Sumpter. Three thousand shells fell in 
and about the fori; and the Union garrison surrendered Sun- 
day, April 14. In the call for troops that was speedily issued 
my only brother, Ben H. Wills, enlisted in Pagan's First Arkan- 
sas Infantr}- regiment. He served as a flag-bearer until captured 
when he was sent to Rock Island prison. 111., where he re- 
mained a prisoner until the close of the war. He now sleeps 
the sleep of the blest. 

In the latter part of 1862 Lieut. Henry James, who was 
my husband, enlisted for service with Capt. Brown's cavalry 
volunteers, commanded by Gen. Cabell; later he was made adju- 
tant, and put on Col. Munroe's staff. Still later, when Capt. 
Bro-vvn was wounded, he was placed in command of this com- 
pany, was wounded and captured on the Missouri raid, and sent 
a prisoner to Johnson's Island with several others of Monroe's 
regiment, where he remained a prisoner until peace was declared 
in 1865. 

A few months prior to his capture, while Cabell's brigade 
was stationed near Columbus, Hempstead county, Arkansas, a 
thrilling incident occurred in my own life which I will relate 
in as little space as possible. 

My husband Lieut. James, had received permission to come 
with a scout within several miles of Benton, Saline county, 
Arkansas. He ventured there alone and came to see me and 
our two baby boys, one eight months, the other two years old. 

I was at that time with my mother, ^Mrs. J, A. McAdoo, 
formely Mrs. James M. Wills, where I had refugeed from Lit- 
tle Rock, mv home, when the war broke out. It took onlv a 



102 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

few words of advice from my husband to persuade my mother, 
then a widow, her husband having died in the army in Missis- 
sippi, at Corinth, to send all of her negroes who would go 
willingly with wagons and horses with myself and children to 
Texas. 

We started within a few hours with the most valuable of 
our possessions. The scout of fifteen men met Lieut. James just 
off the old military road from Little Eock to Eockport— on a 
circuitous one — leading to the Magnet Cove, about seven miles 
from old Eockport. We were so heavily loaded it took us a day 
and a half to get there. We camped out one night and often 
during the night thought we heard the sound of whispering 
voices and horses' feet, and as often Lieut. James went with his 
men to reconnoiter but found it was only the whispering wind 
or the cautious step of some wild animal. It was about sun- 
down when we reached the Magnet Cove, a lonesome, isolated 
place, where already the hooting of the owl and scream of the 
M'ild beast could be heard, echoing through the dense forest that 
surrounded it. Only one house could be seen, that of S. Cloud, 
who married a half sister of my father. To this house we 
drove up and after greetings with my aunt heard from her 
the astuonding news that the Federal soldiers were all around 
us hunting forage and horses and Confederates, too. It took 
Lieut. James only a few minutes to bid us good-bye and gallop 
down the lane to where his men had pitched tents for the night. 

As I watched his form die away in the gathering gloom I 
felt that life was indeed a hard problem, and that fate had de- 
creed a dark future for me, yet but a child of sixteen years who 
had always been shielded from all of life's responsibilities and 
wants. As I stood there thinking of my husband, brother and 
relatives, for all I had were in the Confederate service, great 
tears fell from my eyes to the ground. While I thus stood a 
party of about 35 Federals, the first I had ever seen, came dash- 
ing down the road in the direction of Eockport, and rode up 
to the gate where I yet stood. With white face and nervous 
voice I answered their first question (telling a falsehood point 
blank). I said there had been no rebels around there. Fortu- 



Narrow Escape From Federal Prison 103 

nately^ when they put the question to Julia, one of the negro 
women, she answered as I did, but when one of them asked one 
of the little negro boys, he said "Yes, sir; we seen some back 
dar/' pointing to the way we came. His mother gave him a 
significant look and said he didn't know what rebel meant and 
that she had told him as "dey cum along dat way, dat if he 
don't behave an' quit a-teasin' a coon so (a negro baby), de 
woods is full of debbils dat looks like men an' dey take 'im 
away wid 'em." 

This novel explanation, to my surprise and joy, seemed 
to satisfy them, though the leader looked a little incredulous. 
He asked all about our journey from Benton, for our wagons 
stood in front of the gate and the negroes, all but Sam, my 
mother's trusty, who had saddled one of her fine horses and gone 
with lieut. James as his body servant, were huddled about me. 

It took only a few hours for the bluecoats to get all the for- 
age in that vicinity, and the next day at 11 o'clock found us 
headed for Benton, where only a short time before we had said 
good-bye and started for Texas. The Federals were very re- 
spectful to me all the way, and at no time did they speak to me. 
Only now and then one more humorous than the rest would 
laugh at the odd conversation carried on by two negro boys 
in negro dialect — simon pure. 

FEDERALS ENCAMPED AT OLD HOilE. 

Words cannot describe my sensations when at last we drove 
to my mother's home and saw artillery planted as near the 
gallery as could be, and all the fences down — with tents stretch- 
ed all about the yard and orchard. The large tent was occupied 
by Col. E.itter of Gen. Steele's division, which now occupied 
Little Eock. This transformation seemed magical to me, for 
I had not heard that Gen. Steel's army was in Little Rock nor 
that Col. Ritter's regiment had come to Benton to stay for an 
indefinite periods. "With burning cheek and flashing eye I 
glanced at the tent next to the side porch, when just then a 
handsome blond officer, whose epaulettes denoted the rank of 
colonel came out and, seeing my indignant look and mien, which 
1 supposed amused him, bowed with the grace of an Apollo. 



104 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

This I haughtily resented with a curl of the lip, and a defiant 
shrug of the shoulders, which he seemed more amused at. I 
at once strode into my mother's parlor, accompanied by my sis- 
ter, Fannie "Wills, who, with hidden wrath, showed me all 
the pictures on the walls^ which had been cut in holes and other- 
wise defaced. 

She recounted to me the depredations the soldiers had com- 
mitted, such as killing the milch cows and calves and chick- 
ens and devastating the garden, orchard and stripping the 
smokehouse. My dear, noble mother did not utter a complaint, 
though her heart bled for her country and her loved ones and 
her home. She urged me and sister to be patient and not to 
do anything that would bring more suffering upon us all. 

A BIT OF BRUTALITY. 

But all the fires of a proud, patriotic Southerner burned 
and thrilled in our veins, and I fairly gritted my teeth, but held 
my temper under control when in the presence of the Federals, 
until one day when I had been exasperated almost beyond en- 
durance, I heard a scream from my baby boy, and then the 
voice of his nurse Chancy crying "Miss Sue, come here quick." 
I followed the direction of the voices to the back yard, and 
there found my baby being held roughly to the ground by a big. 
rough soldier while another held Julia's negro baby of the same 
age in his lap, and every now and then made them kiss, at 
which those around laughed coarsely, and used profane epithets 
to me and my baby. It seemed to me I jumped from the steps 
ten feet to where they were. Snatching my baby in my arms, 
I called on heaven to send judgment and retribution to the cruel 
cowards. My terrible anger seemed to intimidate them for a 
time, but later only provoked them to more than profanity, even 
to blackguardism. 

MORE BRUTALITY. 

After this episode my mother was in constant dread lest I 
should cause some terrible trouble to come to us all, and she 
had not long to wait. About a month after the above occurrence 




Mrs. Sue L. James 
Hot Springs 



Narrow Escape From Fedeilvl Prison 105 

we were all aroused one night about 1 o'clock by a succession of 
guns, fired through our windows, facing the south. My mother, 
sister Fannie and myself came near being hit several times. As 
quick as we could we pulled the children all out of bed and with 
them crawled under the beds, for all of us slept in one room, 
as we were afraid to sleep in different ones. My mother s five 
children, my half brothers and sisters were all small, and needed 
almost constant care. At this juncture a loud scream from 
Julia, the cook, fell on our ears, as the kitchen door burst 
open and she fell fainting across it. We had no matches nor 
lamps, and only by the rays of the cold autumn moon could 
we discover the blood streaming from her mouth and her al- 
most lifeless form, she being enciente, we felt sure she was dead 
from some awful wound received when the shots were fired. 
We dragged her in and after a hard rubbing she finally came 
to and told us how six big burly soldiers had assaulted her. She 
also said they had Hester, my mother's householdgirl at that 
time, beating her on the head. Just then Hester came 'almost 
lifeless to our room, where Julia had been taken. One eye was 
closed and four front teeth knocked out, while blood covered 
her face so that she was almost unrecognizable. At this sight, 
my mother and myself ran in hot haste to Capt. McCrary's, 
provost marshal's office, where we related in an almost inco- 
herent way what had happened. He snatched his hat and ran 
ahead of us to our home. I had forgotten to mention that 
Col. Ritter had been removed to Little Rock, with all his regi- 
ment except Capt. McCrary's company of lowans, and in jus- 
tice to the captain and the majority of his men I would state 
that these rough drunken soldiers who had so outraged us and 
our servants were raw recruits from the low-down foreigners, 
with one or two half-breeds. 

When we arrived home everything was quiet and Capt. Mc- 
Crary" was issuing orders to a corporal to place a guard around 
our house, which he did, and it was kept there every night for 
a couple of weeks, as I remember, after which time my mother 
put a bed in her parlor and Capt. McCrary occupied it until 
he left. He was a perfect gentleman and deplored the outrages 
of some of the Federals. 



106 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

Things went on quite smoothly until one morning while I 
was sweeping the gallery, a coarse, impudent soldier passed in 
front of our gate and exposed himself indecently. Now I had 
with me a little silver mounted pistol my husband had given 
me when he left for the war, which I had only saved of all my 
belongings, for a few weeks before some scoundrel had entered 
our room at night and stolen from under my head a valuable set 
of garnet and pearl jewelry with my watch and chain and all the 
gold and silver that I possessed. Well, no sooner than the 
fellow exposed himself than I snatched from my pocket my 
pistol and fired two shots at him. He ran for his life and I 
afterward heard through Mike Curliss, a noble young m'an. 
whom we all liked, and called "copperhead," a soubriquet often 
given by us to the more kindly and courteous Federal soldiers, 
that the fellow reported me as firing on him while he was 
peaceably walking past the house. I never did learn what be- 
came of him, for Capt. McCrary was ordered to vacate Benton 
and rejoin Gen. Steele's army at Little Eock. The very next 
day after he left a squad of Confederates rode into town, but 
before that the news came that the Confederates were marching 
50,000 strong on to Benton from Camden or near that vicinity, 
and of all the running, mounting horses, loading wagons, I 
have ever seen, that was the climax. Of course, we were all 
tickled almost to death, but had to look on mum, as the report 
proved false. However, only a few days elapsed before the en- 
tire company left. I suspect they felt it was a prudent thing 
to do. As I said, a scout of Confederates headed by Capt. Gus 
Crawford, came galloping up to our house the next day after 
the Federals left. 

"Feds," as they were mostly called, in retaliation for Rebel. 
After leisurely riding around to speak to and look at their 
relatives, for each man had some there, some of the men who 
took care of the horses in the outskirts, hidden by bushes and 
trees, came galloping up to our back door and my mother and 
sister Fannie and myself hurriedly gave them their breakfast, 
for they had not eaten since the night before, while recounting 
to them the dangers of the Federals at Benton. Mrs. Jane El- 



Narrow Escape From Federal Phison 107 

rod, a noble, patriotic woman, who should have a moniunent 
to her memory, came galloping up with the news that a Fed- 
eral scout of about one hundred and fifty men was just outside 
of Benton. It took only a few seconds for our men to dash out 
of sight in the woods near by. The leading officer of the 
Federal scout came galloping up to our house, followed by about 
fifty men, and demanded a search of the premises. My mother 
consented reluctantly, for underneath the floor in her room 
were several blankets and a pair of cavalry boots which I had 
bought from the post sutler before Capt. McCrary left Benton 
and paid fourteen dollar for — paid it in washings, my first 
time, too. Oh, how I hated to do it, but the boots were of nice 
patent leather to the knees and I thought they would do my 
husband so much good. I didn't mind the rubbing of the 
skin off my hands, that were so tender and white then, but the 
degradation of washing for men who had robbed us, and who 
were hunting our loved ones to kill them before our eyes. 

But back to ray story. I felt a thrill of anger and fear as 
I saw the soldiers take tools and begin to tear up the floor. I 
feared only for my mother, as I did not care what became of 
me at that moment. They tore up the floor in the parlor, walked 
straight to mother's room and began to tear up the floor. Great 
heavens ! they would soon reveal the blankets and boots, the con- 
trabrand goods hidden there, and then what? I stood pale and 
scornful watching them, within my heart saying, "Go ahead 
and do your best; I am not afraid of you." One plank ripped 
up, another, another. I looked at mother and sister, pale but 
speechless. At last I cried out: "They are there with guns to 
shoot you." They took no notice of this further than to go a 
little slower, and now that there was room for a man to crawl 
through several knelt down and peered under the house, and 
seeing no one, but seeing a heap of dirt in the little dark cellar, 
they crawled quickly in and began digging, expecting to find a 
live rebel or a dead Federal, I know not which. The mound 
was a covering for our contrabrand goods. "Oh, my boots will 
go, mother," I whispered. She, pale and quiet, gave me a re- 
proving look. This the soldiers did not hear or see. 



108 Confederate Womex of Arkansas 

"Now they have them all," I said hopelessly. 
But. lo ! when the dirt was removed there was nothing but 
dirt; where were the blankets and boots? The good Father 
must have sent an angel to spirit them away and save us from 
prison, I said to mother. She looked at me as much astonished 
as 1 was. Well, the search was over at last and the last rays 
of the setting sun had flung showers of shimmering gold athwart 
the quiet little town of Benton as if to shed a final brightness 
over our sad hearts and homes. 

That night we all went to bed hungry. The Federals' fre- 
quent trips had stripped us of everything to eat almost and when 
they left we had only a pittance of bread and of meat. 

GOOD MIKE CURLESS. 

But one week from that night will long be remembered 
by us all, for at the hour of 10 that night Mike Curless, who 
had been permitted to come wdth the scout, rode in haste to 
our house and told us that we had been reported for harboring 
aind feeding rebels and sending contrabrand goods to tli«ir 
. army ; also that I was to be taken to Alton, 111., as a prisoner 
for attempting to kill a United States soldier. He didn't know 
at what time, but he knew I Avas to go soon and after urging 
secrecy galloped down to the court house, where some of the 
scout had dismounted. My mother was almost frantic now and 
we sat lip or walked the floor until daybreak when our joy was 
to behold five of our men ride up to door and ask if there were 
any "Feds" about. We told them a scout had been there early 
in the evening, but had gone back to Little Eock. Then my 
mother poured out our fears to them, when to our surprise 
they said they had come to notify me that one of Cabell's men 
was waiting about a mile distant to carry me to Cabell's head- 
quarters near Columbus, Hempstead county. Jack Lecroy was 
the man who had been detailed by Gen. Cabell at the request 
of Lieut. James to bring an ambulance for me and my babies 
and take us to their headquarters. 

We were so astonished we could not speak at once. Then 
1 cried out: "Who told them I was to be sent a prisoner to 
Alton, 111?" 



Narrow Escape From Fedeeal Peison 109 

Had. Rowen, one of Capt. Crawford's men, said : "It seems 
a fellow by the name of ]\Iike Curliss informed Mrs. Jane Elrod 
and she sent a leter to Lieut. James notifying him. Mrs. El- 
rod told me to tell you that the boots were received by Lieut. 
James, and also one blanket by Col. Monroe." 

She had met a scout out on the old military road nine 
miles south of Benton and delivered them, the boots and the 
blanket. She also told him how she had crawled under the 
house, when she saw the Federals coming, and pulled the blank- 
ets and boots out, and tied the boots under her hoop skirts, 
which were roomy, and put one blanket under her saddle with 
her old one used for a blanket, so that it could not be detected. 
The other blankets — there were three — she partly spread be- 
tween the quilts on a bed in a room next to the kitchen while the 
Federals were ripping up the planks, and then she sat down on 
the gallery, seemingly a visitor for the day. My sister Fannie 
and I clapped our hands in delight, while my mother said seri- 
ously: "Surely the workings of Providence are strange, but 
altogether right." 

But now our boys were gone to tell Mr. Lecroy I would be 
ready by 8 o'clock that night, and he must come to the edge of 
the woods, about one hundred and fifty yards from our orchard, 
and get some one to help him carry my trunk to the am])ulance. 
All day my mother watched the street leading toward Little 
Rock, ever and anon saying "Hush ! I hear horses' hoofs," but 
8 o'clock came and no "Feds" had l^een there. Silently but 
tearfully we bade each other good-bye and I was soon riding 
behind a pair of strong mules toward Hempstead county, where, 
my husband awaited my coming with the little boys, tremulously, 
and anxiously. We had gone but nine miles when the left 
wheel broke down and Mr. Lecroy was forced to impronse one 
by cutting a strong sapling, fastening one end to the front axle 
and letting the other drag. This compelled me to sit with my 
yoimgest child on my lap and the other holding tightly to my. 
dress while I leaned forward and held hard to the standard or 
post on the right of the ambulance, a most cramped and misera- 
ble position. Mr. Lecroy tried to cheer us all the way, but he 



110 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

had no time to deky, as Federal scouts might at any time 
overtake us, and either kill him or imprison us all. 

The roads were awfully bad and our first night out we had 
to sit up in a log cabin. The owner was a poor woman with five 
dirty children, her husband in the war, and she had only fat 
meat and cornmeal. I tried to cook my first meal, but made such 
a miserable failure that Mr. Lecroy came to my rescue and fin- 
ished after I had blistered my hands and almost burnt my 

face. 

After a narrow escape from drowning in a swollen slough 
we at last arrived on the third day at the camp, where I at 
once became the heroine of a number of old Tige's men, as he 
was familiarly called. He, Gen. Cal>ell complimented me on 
my bravery, and Mr. Lecroy on his strategy. Here at last I 
found happiness once more, and often rode horseback with my 
old soldier friends or watched the brigade on dress parade. 

My happiness did not last long, however. In a few weeks 
Gen. Cabell with his brigade was ordered away, and I was forced 
to go farther south. I went to Mr. James' cousin's plantation 
at Dercheat. Union county, the homd of Maj. D. 0. Kyle, 
where I remained until Mr. Browley came for me and accom- 
panied me back to the "Clift place" five miles from Benton, 
where my mother and sister Fannie Wills, with the rest of the 
children, had refugeed after our home in Benton was burned. 

A NICETY of brutality. 

That was the time my mother had been taken prisoner at 
daybreak, one cold, sleety morning and marched in her gown, 
barefooted, to a Federal wagon, where she was placed before the 
house was fired and driven a mile on their way to Little Rock, 
when the Federal soldiers told her to look back at her home. 
She looked back and saw forked flames that seemed to lick the 
sky, when one of the men began to curse her and said : "Your 
d — d rebel young ones are burned up." She did not know any 
better until after she reached Little Rock. Chief Justice Eng- 
lish, his wife and Miss Sophia Crease met my mother in a car- 
riage with a permit obtained ingeniously from Gen. Steele to 
allow her to remain a prisoner at the home of Chief Justice 



Narrow Escape From Federal Prison 111 

English, where she was guarded until, by the repeated efforts 
of those ehivalric and patriotic friends, she was released and 
after repeated efforts had been made to administer to her the 
oath of allegiance. My sisters and brothers were all kindly 
cared for by friends in Benton, after the home was burned, 
until her release. 

It would take pages to tell all of our experiences during 
that sad war. Memory takes me back to those days, moves me, 
possesses me until I again live in the days that are dead. I 
hear again the murmur of Saline river and the low roll of 
drums from the surrounding forest, where camps of infantry 
and cavalry are aroused by the "reveille." In the breeze I 
seem to hear the bugles, and thundering roar of artillery as we 
breathlessly wait for news of our loved ones. At Shiloh I see 
again our loved ones who used to wear the gray and march under 
the red flag of the South to die on a couch of blood, arid whose 
only requiem was the swell and moan of the autumnal winds, 
whose shroud only the variegated autumn leaves. I hear again 
like the burst of thunder "Old Tige is advancing" — a quick 
throb of the heart and exclamation of joy as we clasp our arms 
about a phantom form. Alas ! to find that it was only a dream. 



On a cold winter day, when Lee's army was marching 
through one of the lower sections of Virginia, some of the vet- 
erans were completely barefooted, and the Sixth Georgia regi- 
ment was passing. A plain country woman was standing in the 
group by the road side. "Lord, a mercy," she said, "there's a 
poor soldier ain't got no shoes," and off came her's in a jifify 
and she ordered her negro woman standing by to give hers up, 
too. The good woman wore number threes, and the soldier who 
got them was Jake Quarles, of Company B, Dade county, Geor- 
gia, who wore number twelves. 



WORK OF MRS. JAMES M. KELLER, OF 
HOT SPRINGS. 

By J. M. Lucey. 

The life of Mrs. Keller became entwined in the war record 
of the Confederate soldiers of Arkansas in various ways, due 
largely to the fact that her husband, Dr. James M. Keller, was 
medical director of the Trans-Mississippi Department of the 
Confederacy. In the first years of the war she frequently 'ac- 
companied him on the expeditions, which his official duties re- 
quired him to make. In this way, Mrs. Keller became known 
to the Arkansas divisions of the army and her womanly influ- 
ence cast a charm over many dismal scenes of camp life. 

In the Confederate hospitals of Memphis, which she was 
chiefly instrumental in founding, many Arkansas soldiers were 
nursed back to life and restored to the ranks of the Southern 
army. From the close of the war in 18G5, to the time of her 
death at Hot Springs, April 8, 1906, she was a most enthusi- 
astic and successful worker and organizer of Chapters of the 
Daughters of the Confederacy. 

Mrs. Keller, a native of Kentucky, and a member of 
one of the most prominent families of the bluegrass region, was 
bom, August 31, 1831, in Jefferson county, not far from Louis- 
ville. She was a graduate of Nazareth Academy, Nelson countv 
— Her maiden name was Sallie Phillips. When about twenty 
years of age, she married Dr. James M. Keller, and in 1901, the 
golden jubilee of their wedding was happily celebrated at Hoc 
Springs, Ark. 

In the progress of the Civil war, Mrs. Keller, finding that 
her stay in Memphis might continue for a considerable length 
of time through force of circumstances, set to work to improve 
the Overton Hotel hospital, and then organized the old State 
hospital, where the Dominican Sisters of the Catholic church 
were placed in charge. It is not possible in a brief sketch to 
describe the wonderful work of this noble woman tn these and 




Mrs. J. M. Keller 



Work of Mrs. James M. Keller 113 

other hospitals during the gloomy days and nights when the 
pall of Southern defeat was gathering over them like a bird of 
evil prey. The courage of Southern womanhood was never more 
severely tested, and their heroic conduct never more beautifully 
illustrated than when they went forth at early morn from their 
own lonely homes to remain until late at night beside the cot of 
the dying Southern soldier. And among the women who distin- 
guished themselves in the terrible ordeal, Mrs. Keller was pre- 
eminent. Her intuitive knowledge of elementary medical prac- 
tice, her maitemal heart and ardent Southern nature made 
her presence something to be watched for and greeted with the 
grateful expression of eye when tongue was silent. 

In the Confederate hospitals of Memphis, there were num- 
erous cases of extraordinary interest: A youth of tender years 
whose delirium was about a loving mother; a soldier who was 
brought in merely to die in comfort and who surprised doctors 
and nurses by living; officers, whose impatience to return to 
their commands and win promotion by bravery on the battle- 
field, taxed the patience of every attendant. All these inci- 
dents were looked upon as matters of course and no records were 
kept, but the brave men of the commands of General Patrick 
Cleburne and of General Nathan Bedford Forest, carried away 
the images of the ministering angels of the hospitals as their 
happiest mementoes. 

The standing of Mrs. Keller in the army of the enemy may 
be estimated from the fact that the very first thing which the 
Federal commander did after the capture of Memphis was to 
exile her and her two small children to the malarial swamp 
below the city. It was supposed that she could not survive with 
life, so close was the environment. This forecast would no 
doubt have proven true but for the vigilance and fidelity of a 
negro slave whose ingenuity rescued her from this frightful 
captivity and enabled her to rejoin her husband. 

With the close of the war. the family moved to Hot 
Springs, Ark., when her active nature and strong Southern feel- 
ing led her to the front in all the work of women for the conse- 
cration in memoriam of the deeds of the heroes and heroines of 



VIII 



11-1 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

the lost cause. Mrs. Keller was instrumental in founding the 
organization of the Chapters of the Daughters of the Confedera- 
cy throughout the South and at the time of her death she was 
the honorary president of the national association. She was fre- 
quently president of the Arkansas State Chapter and the J. M. 
Keller Chapter of Ivittle Rock was so named in her honor. Her 
hushand standing even now like the stalwart oak of the forest 
after the storm cloud has passed, firmer and stronger in the 
possession of earthly life and yet lonely enough except for 
the images of the past, reveres her memory as the benediction 
of his life. He loves her most who knew her best. 



SHERMAN THOUGHT SOUTHERN WOMEN 
TOUGH SET. 

After Sherman took possession of Savannah he soon issued 
orders, driving out of the city the wives of Confederate officers 
and soldiers. While these women were packing their trunks, he 
sant soldiers to watch them. 

The ladies sent a remonstrance to the general, and here is 
his reply: 

^^ou women are the toughest set I ever knew. The men 
would have given up long ago but for you. I l>elieve you would 
keep this war up for thirty years." 



Miss Sue ^l. ]\[onroe. of Wellington, Va., is the only \yeT- 
son who has a full list of soldiers buried on the battle field of 
]\fanassas, with number of graves. She began this work during 
the war, and completed the list afterwards. Any inquiries in 
regard to the dead of this battle field should be addressed to 
her, and she will take pleasure in giving all information possible. 



BRAVERY OF MRS CLAY ROBINSON 

By Mrs. J. C. Poindexier, of Imboden. 

As my mother Mrs. Clay Robinson, is not living to help 
write the history of "Woman in the War," I will give you a few 
instances of which I have heard her often talk. 

She carrierl a message from Clover Bend to Jacksonr-ort 
or near there to Gen. Bandrige McEae, who was at that time 
with his command at Jacksonport. I think this message was 
from Gen. Sterling Price. The courier who started with it to 
Jacksonport was taken suddenly verj' sick and was compelled 
to stop at Kinion's at Clover Bend. My mother was there 
visiting. When she learned the state of affairs and that it waa 
very necessary that the dispatch reach Gen. McRae within a 
few hours, she offered to take the dispatch to Gen. McRae for 
him. The courier told her that it was too great an undertaking, 
as she would be risking her life, to say nothing of the loss of the 
dispatches, should she be captured. She told him she was will- 
ing to run the risk and would give her life before surrendering 
the dispatch, if he would trust her. - 

She was then 21 years old and was the vridow of Clay Rob- 
inson, who had died 'a short time before from measles and ex- 
posure contracted in the army. 

Finally the soldier gave her the dispatch and told her to 
take it to Bob Gray near Jacksonport, a distance of about 30 
miles. 

She was accompanied by a young lady, I believe it was Misa 
Emma Kinion, who is now Mrs. Ben Bush and lives two miles 
below Clover Bend. They started late in the evening and when 
about 10 miles from home they met two men. The women rode 
on the shady side of the road. The moon was shining and one 
said "Good evening, gentlemen." The other whistled a hjrmn 
as they passed. When they were a few yards past, the men 
stopped and one of them said "halt I" but the women rode on 
as if thev had not heard the command. The men then started 



;] 10 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

on and there was .nothing more to distress them except the dread 
of being captured, and with them the dispatch. Weary and worn 
out from riding so far, they reached Gray's home some time 
before daylight. The dispatch was turned over to Mr. Gray 
and reached Gen. McRae safely. 

HELD AS SPY. 

In 1864 my mother was taken prisoner, suspected of being 
a Confederate spy. She was at her uncle's (Col. J A. Lindsay), 
and was getting on her horse to go home (Clover Bend), a dis- 
tance of six miles, when two men rode up, one on each side, 
and told her to consider herself under arrest. She asked why 
she was arrested and was told that she was too far from home 
and it was suspected that she was in search of information for 
the Southern army. She told them that she was looking for her 
brother's horse, that the Yankees had stolen and had heard that 
it had been seen near Lindsay's and she had come to see about 
it, but of course this had no -v^eight with them. By this time 
she had been forced to ride into line as the regiment was pass- 
ing. They were going in the direction of her home, therefore, 
she didn't mind so much going with them as she would had 
they been going the opposite direction. When the colonel of the 
regiment came up to where she was, she asked him what he 
intended to do with her, and he said : "Take you to Jacksonport 
and try you." She said: "There is no one at Jacksonport that 
knows me at all; at home is the place to tr\^ me where I am 
known." She told him she wouldn't go to Jacksonport. He 
might bind her hand and foot and take her, but she positively 
would not go any other way. He then asked her if she would 
take the oath not to assist the Confederacy. She said: "If 
that is the only way of release I will ;" then said he "Will you 
be true to the oath?" She replied: "No, sir, I would not con- 
sider it worth the snap of my finger after you are out of sight." 
The colonel became convinced that he could not get evidence 
against her, so when they reached her home ( a very short dis- 
tance) he released her. 

RICH HAUL BY THIEVES. 

One day some men came to Mamma's home and claimed to 



Bravery of Mrs. Clay Robinson 117 

be in search of arms. They went through everything except a 
trunk which they could not open. Mamma told them there was 
nothing of the kind in the trunk and refused to open it, but when 
one of them got an ax and threatened to burst it open (it was 
a steel frame and covered with leather) she opened it rather 
than have it ruined. She took the contents out, one article at 
a time until she came to a sack of money (gold and silver) 
which she knew was what they were after. She had not more 
than got hold of it until one man grabbed it out of her hands. 
It became untied and the coin was scattered over the floor. The 
man raked it up in his hands. Mamma said to him, "I wouldn't 
•ask you for a cent of it to save your life except that five dollar 
gold piece with the blue ribbon on it. It belongs to this child, 
(putting her hand on her four-year-old boy, who was standing 
near hj, and hadn't said a word, although there were tears in 
his eyes). His grandfather gave it to him the day he was a 
year old." The man said, "Oh, well that will buy me a break- 
fast some morning," and left the house. 

When she moved the trunk she found that a quarter had 
slipped under the trunk, which was the only cent on the place. 

The same day three other men came to the house. One 
of them asked mamma what was fastened to that cord she was 
wearing aroimd her neck. She told him it was none of his busi- 
ness. He took hold of the cord and mamma picked up a ham- 
mer which was lying on the stair case close by and struck him 
on the head. As he dodged from the lick the cord was broken, 
also the skin on her neck in more than one place. The watch 
fell on the hearth ; mamma got hold of it first. She wrapped 
the cord around her wrist and held the watch out toward him 
and said: "Wlien you get this watch you will take it off my 
dead body." She was a small woman, her average weight being 
about 115 pounds, but was bravery itself. She would have 
fought for the watch, because it was formerly her husband's. 
It is an old gold hunting case and a good watch yet. (My hus- 
band is carrying it. ) The man turned and walked" out. One 
of the other men said: "She bluffed you, did she?" Ma said: 
"and you two are no part of gentlemen or you wouldn't stand 



lis Confederate Women of Arkansas 

by and see a woman imposed on." They said, "Oh, we didn't 
want to have anything to do with it." 

My mother was originally Mary Scanlan and lived with 
Col. J. A. Lindsay from childhood (as her parents died when 
she was small), until 1858, when she married Clay Eobinson. 
In 1869 she married Dr. B. F. Austin, who was Captain of Co. 
G. in Freeman's old regiment. She died April 8, 1902. 



JOHN WISE AND HIS BIG CLOTHES. 

The spectacle presented at the social gatherings, particu- 
larly the starvation parties, was picturesque in the extreme. 
The ladies often took down the damask and other curtains and 
made dresses of them. My friend, Hon. John S. Wise, form- 
erly of Virginia, now of New York, tells the following story of 
himself : He was serving in front of Richmond and was invited 
to come into the city to attend*a starvation party. Having no 
coat of his own fit to wear, he borrowed one from a brother offi- 
cer nearly twice his height. The sleeves of his coat covered his 
hands entirely, the skirt came below his knees several inches, 
and the buttons in the back were down on his legs. So attired. 
Captain Wise went to the party. His first partner in the dance 
was a young lady of Eichmond belonging to one of its best fam- 
ilies. She was attired in the dress of her great-grandmother, 
and a part of this dress was a stomacher very suggestive in its 
proportions. Captain Wise relates with exquisite humor that 
the sight presented by himself and his partner was so ridiculous 
that he burst out laughng; and his partner turned and looked 
at him angrily, left his side and never spoke to him again. 



ORIGIN OF CONFEDERATE MEMORIAL 
ASSOCIATION. 

The New York Herald contains the following contribution 
from Mrs. John A. Logan, in which she says that the "Decora- 
tion Day" in the North was an adoption from the South's "Mem- 
orial Day." 
To the Editor of the Herald : 

In the spring of 1868, General Logan and I were invited to 
visit the battle-grounds of the South with a party of friends. As 
certain important matters kept him from joining the party, 
however, I went alone, and the trip' proved a most interesting 
and impressive one. The South had been desolated by the war. 
Everywhere signs of privation and devastation were con- 
stantly presenting themselves to us. The graves of the soldiers 
however, seemed as far as possiole the objects of the greatest 
care and attention. 

One graveyard that struck me as being especially pathetic 
was in Eichmond. The graves were new, and just before our 
visit there had been a "Memorial Day" observance, and upon 
each grave had been placed a small Confederate flag and 
wreaths of beautiful flowers. The scene seemed most impressive 
to me, and when I returned to Washington I spoke of it to' the 
General and said 1 wished there could be concerted action of this 
kind all over the North for the decoration of the graves of our 
own soldiers. The General thought it a capital idea, and with 
enthusiasm set out to secure its adoption. 

At that time he was commander-in-chief of the Grand 
Army. The next day he sent for Adjutant-General Cliipman, 
and they conferred as to the best means of beginning a general 
observance. On the 5th da}^ of May in that year the historic 
order was put out. General Logan often spoke of the issuing 
of this order as the proudest act of his life. 

It was marvelous how popular the idea became. The pa- 
pers 'all over the land copied the order, and the observance was 



120 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

a general one. The memorial ceremonies that took place at 
Arlington that year were perfectly inspiring to all the old sol- 
diers. Generals Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan and many of 
those who have since passed away attended the first solemn ob- 
servance of that day. MES. JOHIST A. LOGAN". 



THE HEART OF ROBERT BRUCE. 

The legend has it that when dying, Eobert Bruce, King of 
Scotland, ordered that his heart be taken to Palestine, since 
in life he had been unable to join the crusaders. Lord James 
Douglas, with one hundred knights, sets out on the mission 
with the heart encased in gold. Passing by Spain, and finding 
that the Moors were making inroads, they lent their aid to the 
Spainards and led the attack. In the midst of the battle, 
when sorely pressed. Douglas hurled the heart of Bruce far 
into the midst of the infidels, and then fought his way after it, 
followed by the other Scots This turned the tide of battle, but 
when the field was cleared, Douglas was found among the slain, 
prostrate above his master^s heart. 



PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

By Mrs. Josephine Robuison Brandenburg, of Jaclcsonport. 
Mrs. Josephine Eobinson Brandenburg, who is a native 
of Jackson county, Arkansas, thinks because she did not live 
in the midst of battle-fields and was not near the seat of war 
that her experiences are of little worth. But as it is easier for 
soldiers to go to the front than it is to stay in the back ground 
and wait, so it was much harder for those poor anxious women 
to wait and watch and work without any news for many long 
months often, from their loved ones, who were fighting afar 
off, than it was for those who were nearer the conflict and 
could not have time to think. In speaking of the days spent 
in these long lonely years, Mrs. Brandenburg says: "We were 
fortunate in not being in the thickest of the fight I presume, 
but we. notwithstanding this, went through a great many hard- 
ships and untold anxieties. At the beginning of the war my 
home was in Jacksonport from which place the Jacksonport 
Guards went out. I assisted in making their flag, which they 
so proudly carried away, so faithfully protected, and though 
"tattered and torn," they brought it back after having followed 
it for four years. During the second year of the war, my 
father, James Robinson, with my mother, myself, and several 
true and tried slaves, moved to our plantation, about ten miles 
from Jacksonport, where we spent the remainder of the time 
till the war closed. My father was then 63 years old. Our 
house was many times a haven of refuge for our soldiers. Once 
when the Federal soldiers were known to be in our vicinity, a 
girl. Miss Pink Weatherly, daughter of Capt. Weatherly, and 
I stood for hours, at either end of the lane in front of our 
house "watching for the Yankees," while my mother cooked 
■a midnight supper for some of our own boys. We spent most 
of our days spinning, weaving and making garments and smug- 
gling them to our soldiers, at every opportunity, but sending 
them at great risk. At one time this same Jacksonport girl 



122 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

came to our house and on finding that we had several woolen 
suits of underwear, socks, etc., ready to send away, she insisted 
that we put them all on her that she might wear them and go 
through the Federal lines and take them to our soldiers. I 
believe that she succeeded in getting on nine suits of these 
clothes and when she reached Jacksonport, she was given some 
valuable papers to be taken with her. She reached her destina- 
tion safely but was months in returning home again. After the 
battle of Pea Ridge, Lieut. Green Brandenburg (afterwards my 
husband) sent to me a letter telling of his safety, and that his 
company had been dismounted and that he had sent to me his 
pony. This horse was brought by a colored boy, "Dick," who 
belonged to me, but who gladly went into the Confederate army 
and staid until the war ended. This pony was the cause of much 
anxiety on my part, for I constantly feared that the "Yankees'' 
would get him. I remember to have sat on him a whole day 
once to keep tliem from taking him off. They got to be very 
insulting and I thought once I would have to give him up, but 
they finally went away promising to return that night. After 
a long night's watching, I decided that they had been joking, 
and were not coming for the horse, for that time a least. The 
pony lived to do us good service long after the war closed. I 
helped my poor old father to count and securely pack twelve 
thousand dollars in gold to be sent to Little Rock, by James 
K. Polk Pritchard, to be turned over to the Confederacy. I 
lemember to have seen the receipt for this money in very recent 
years. It was all we had left, but we gave it so proudly and 
gladly." 



GENERAL FORREST'S TRIBUTE. 

Gen. Dick Taylor, who entertained for Gen. Forrest a 
high admiration, once asked the latter what was the great secret 
for success in military matters, Forrest repied he knew of but 
one rule, "Git there first, with the most men." 



SKETCH OF MRS. D. H. REYNOLDS, OF LAKE 
VILLAGE. 

By Mrs. J. IF. McMurray. 

Mrs. D. H. Reynolds, the subject of this sketch, was a Miss 
Wallace, born in Holmes county. Mississippi in 1845 ; moved 
to Arkansas in 1859. and shared in the fortunes of our State 
during the war and reconstruction period. She met General 
Reynolds in Lake Village soon after his return from the war, 
in which he had lost a leg, shot off by a cannon ball at Benton- 
ville, N", C, in the last important battle of the war. They were 
married in 1868, a lovely uniting of two fine characters. The 
General accepted the results of the war in the spirit of our 
heroes, resumed his law practice at Lake Village and invested 
in land of Chicot county to the amount, at one time, of about 
sixty thousand acres, in the mapping and platting of which 
Mrs. Reynolds developed a correct and artistic talent. Their 
home on Lake Chicot was presided over by !Mrs. Reynolds with 
sweet grace and was the center of generous hospitality. General 
Albert Pike and Attorney General A. H. Garland and other 
prominent members of the Arkansas bar. were always at home 
there and as long as they lived cherished the recollection of the 
hospitality they had enjoyed. 

!Mrs. ReA-nolds is the mother of five children, the eldest, 
Mrs. Joseph Hill, wife of our Chief Justice. Rol>ert "W.. who 
sacrificed his young life and promising manhood in his coun- 
irfs cause, being first Lieutenant in the Thirteenth Cavalr\- L". 
S. A., and dying in the TJ. S. hospital at Hot Springs in 1906. 
shortly after his return from two years service in the Philip- 
pines. The second daughter. Eleanor, is unmaaried and a 
third. Ruth is now the wife of Mr. Frank Bull, assistant cashier 
in the Chicot bank : these with Daniel H. Jr., the youngest son, 
all survive to bless the declining years of their devoted mother. 

These are only a few dry facts in the life of our friend, 
but they form the framework of a picture that lives in the 
hearts of those who know her best. A picture from which shines 



134 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

out a generosity only limited by her means and a charity that 
"snffereth long and is kind," that "thinketh no evil," "rejoices 
not in iniquity but rejoices in the truth." 

The chairman of the Arkansas memorial cimmittee may 
add to this beautiful sketch of Mrs. Reynolds, the fact that the 
flag of General Reynold's brigade is now in the Richmond 
museum, having been purchased from Colorbearer Daglan Foley 
by him and presented to the Arkansas room of the museum. 



JOHN ALLEN'S COW. 

While General Milroy was in possession of Winchester he 
was extremely harsh and vindictive towards the people. A great 
many of them were reduced to the borders of starvation. Miss 
Allen, a 15-year-old Southern girl, was a member of a family 
almost absolutely dependent on a good cow's milk for susten- 
ance. In a short time tlie cow's food was exhausted and the pros- 
pect looked dark indeed. There was a good pasturage just out- 
side the town, beyond the guard of the Federal troops. The 
brave girl volunteered to lead the cow out and attend her while 
grazing. A permit to pass the lines from General Milroy was 
necessary. She went to the general and laid her case before 
him and asked for a permit. He flatly refused her request 
and rudely insulted the poor girl. 

"I can't do anything for you rebels and I will not let you 
pass. The rebellion has got to be crushed," said he. 

"Well," answered the girl, "If you think you can crush the 
rebellion by starving John Allen's old cow, just crush away." 



FIRST RECOGNITION OF CONFEDERATE FLAG. 

From the Southern Advocate, Huntsville, April 3, 1861. 

The Havanose are already making cigars done up in wrap- 
pers adorned with the flag of the Confederate states. This, we 
boliove is the first foreig-n recognition. 



SAM C. BELL AND CHARLES SCOTT. 

By Mrs. Mary E. Woodruff Bell, of Little Rocl\ 

In the year 1863, Charles Scott, who had moved with his 
family from Van Buren to Little Rock, was in Baltimore with 
his daughters. Misses Emma and Johanna Scott. One morning 
he left the hotel before breakfast, to go to the market, telling 
the young ladies that he would return in time for breakfast. 
He was away so long, that his daughters became uneasy lest 
some accident had befallen him; the father returned, however, 
safe enough, but whispered the exciting news that he had seen 
a Confederate soldier. Col. Sam S. Bell, whom he had known in 
Little Rock. The soldier had gone into a restaurant for a cup 
of coffee or such a breakfast as his slim purse would allow. 
The two men recognized one another at once, but, with a glance. 
Col. Bell made Mr. Scott understand that they must not speak. 
With the ingenuity that comes to all in time of necessity they 
managed to meet in confidence and Mr. Scott learned that 
Col. Bell and nine other prisoners of war (including his broth- 
er, Capt. Jo. Bell) were being taken from Johnson's Island to 
Point Lookout. Knowing what th-at meant, all of them deter- 
mined to make their escape, which they did. The two brothers 
jumped from the train just before it reached Baltimore, neith- 
er one knowing that the other had escaped. After talking with 
each other as long as they thought prudent to do so, Mr Scott 
handed the soldier a roll of bills, knowing that he must be ill- 
prepared for a long journey. Col. Bell thankfully accepted the 
money saying that he would "make it good" when he arrived at 
Little Rock. The friends parted, one to go on to Philadelphia, 
where he placed Ms daughters in Mrs. Cagey's school, making 
five of Little Rock^s young girls there, Mrs. Myra (McAlmont) 
Vaughan, of Little Rock; Mrs, Laura (Tucker) Hardy, of Chi- 
cago; Mrs. Lizzie (Reynolds) Fellows, of New York; Mrs. 
Emma (Scott) Lawson. of Little Rock, and the late Johanna 
(Scott) Roberts of Little Rock, 



126 COXFEDERATE WoMEN OF ARKANSAS 

The escaped prisoners were taken in and hidden at the 
home of the proprietor of a gents' furnishing house in Balti- 
more. Col. Bell often expressed regret that the name of the family 
escaped his memory^ for after the troublesome times were over 
he longed to write and thank them for their kindness. But he 
was glad, after the surrender, on his return to Little Rock, to 
find his generous hearted friend and returned the money which 
proved so helpful. 

Col. Bell afterward married Miss Mary Woodruff, daugh- 
ter of the late Wm. E. Woodruff, Sr., of Little Rock. His 
brother was sick at a Catholic hospital in Baltimore and the 
two met at their home at Hamburg, Ashley county. Ark., their 
first meeting since leaving Johnson's Island. What became of 
the other soldiers who escaped, they never knew. 



SIGN OF THE STORK. 

A young captain of our country, himself a married nuan, 
read and wrote letters for many of his men unable to read or 
write. He told me of opening a letter at the request of a sturdy 
young soldier who had left a young wife at home. There wlas 
nothing of special moment in the letter, but the soldier blushed 
and laughed when the captain held up a blue yarn string and 
said, "What does this mean. Rodgers, a secret token from your 
wife?" "Yes, captain, that means good news." Months after, 
returning from a furlough, the young soldier came to his cap- 
tain and said, "I left a young soldier' boy at home, sir, and 
we've named him Robt. E. Lee." 

"Rodgers," said the captain, "was that the yarn string 
token?" "Yes. captain, that was it." 



REMINISCENCES OF THE OLD SOUTH. 

By Mrs. Elmira F. Snodgmss, of Little Rock. 

In the strong light of the twentieth century, it is sometimes 
difficult to bring from the sleeping past, facts that are imprint- 
ed not only upon marble tablets or on history's page, but upon 
the fleshy human heart as well. To some of us these remem- 
brances are as undying, as what occurred is beyond recall. 

The decade reaching from 1850 to 1860 as time is comput- 
ed, holds in its grasp a living picture that extends from the 
outer boundary of the Southland to its magnificent unmarred 
center. No language is so full of poetry or so fragrant with the 
flowers of Rhetoric as to graphically describe the "Old South," 
as we, the silver-haired devotees, remember it. The country 
itself was a resplendent setting, planned and completed by 
creative power for the courtly, cultured, magnanimous men, 
and the refined, modest, virtuous women who composed 
her loyal citizenship. Like one of the fixed stars in midnight 
firmament which glows on forever unsullied, so the old South 
pre-eminently adorns the picture gallery of memory. Fleet- 
winged time marked the receding days; with the early sixties 
there appeared upon the political horizon of our country^ a 
cloud, perhaps no larger than a man's hand, but which event- 
ually proved to be a beacon of destruction to the aggrandize- 
ment and accumulation of years, as well as the destroyer of ideal 
homes, the crushing of women's hearts and the bringing of our 
dearest ones to coffinless graves. For many hours we could deal 
in generalities, yet, not exhausting the terrorizing truths that 
bum like a blazing censor upon the historic scroll of '61 to '65. 
Personally, it seemed at first that the war was far off ; we heard 
the bugle call, saw our gallant young men arrayed in handsome 
grey uniforms, march away at officer's command, but no picture 
of things that awaited us had been outlined on our mental sky. 

In January, 1862, the fertile plains of what is known as 
the tobacco belt of west Kentuckv, first reverberated with the 



128 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

alarming tocsin of war. Our beautiful homes resting on the 
peaceful landscape like children in the sheltered havens of a 
well appointed nursery dreamed not of danger or wreckage. At 
sunset that cold winter day the hurried message came. Smith 
and Wallace's army, 5,000 strong, are marching through from 
Mayfield to Fort Donaldson on Tennessee river. They are 
sweeping everything in their course. We had scarcely heard the 
news, when the shrill bugle call and the drum's thunderous 
alarm confirmed the truth. With fire and sword they came. 
Leisurely they passed on taking everything that could be con- 
sumed or destroyed. In four days and nights, (the terror of 
which will never be forgotten) they had swept like a cyclone 
our beautiful country. My own loved home, magnificent in 
proportions and restful as a dream of Eden was literally devast- 
ated. Our negro houses with their entire contents were burned 
to the ground turning the poor creatures out in the deluge of 
rain and sleet with nothing but their usual wearing apparel. 
The dwelling was wrecked, my aged parents and myself were 
left shelterless and bedless. Not a living animal or fowl, or 
morsel of food of the bountiful year's provisions laid in was 
left, when Smith and Wallace's army had gone. A girl of 
eighteen summers untouched by any rough wind or torrid sun, 
the petted child of luxury, filled with high and holy ambitions, 
in this brief space found herself without resource, yet, the 
caretaker of her aged and afflicted parents and the supervisor of 
a multitude of dependent negroes who had never known a want 
of comfort nor ever felt a responsibility. God only knows how 
we lived through it! Gen, Lew Wallace would have to write 
many "Ben Hurs," many tales founded upon the Christ, be- 
fore my deadened sense of his goodness would be resuscitated. 
My experience is onl}^ a prototype of many others in dear old 
Kentucky, which was unfortunately the foraging ground for 
both armies. In July, 1863, a skirmish between Confederate 
and Federal cavalry occurred at Lashers, a church near my 
home. Col. Hawkins commanding five hundred Federal cav- 
alry, stopping at the noon hour, had placed his pickets and they 
were resting nicely. When Capt. Ward, who with a small squad 
of men dashed from a thick covert of woods through their lines 



Eeminiscences of the Old South 129 

and fired into tlie main body, causing a perfect stampede; 
Ward's men turned and followed their Captain at breakneck 
speed through the lane into the thick woods beyond. Hawkins' 
men came after them yelling and firing their guns in wildest 
confusion. The bullets fell like hail on the roof and porches 
singing about our ears as myself and the negroes thoughtless 
of danger ran out to see the chase. The Federals did not go 
in pursuit of Capt. Ward for they were sure the whole woods 
were full of Rebels. When they turned a captain of the Fed- 
erals dashed up to the gate. I was still on the front porch ; he 
commanded me to tell him" where I had those Rebels hidden. 
I replied I did not have them hidden. I did not know Captain 
Ward was in the country at all. He became furious ; he cursed 
me until he could find no words wicked enough to express him- 
self, then he threatened to kill me and burn the house over me ; 
I did not move, I was utterly in his power, so I told him to 
'kill me if he would, but I had told the truth ; at this juncture, 
"Old Dafney," our dear old colored mammy came in view; 
she ran to him crying, "Mister, Mister, hold on — Miss Mira is 
telling you de God's truth ! We ain't had no soldiers here !" 
He turned to her saying, "Well, Aunty, if you say so, I will 
take your word, but I won't believe that Secesh gal." He then 
rode away, followed by the men who had been waiting for or- 
ders. During the whole war my life was one bitter dream of 
terror. I was im^ieriled in three or four skirmishes where the 
bullets fell around me like hail and the shrieks of the wounded 
and dying froze my blood with horror. I have at the point 
of a bayonet cooked for the Yankees until there was nothing 
left that could be cooked. Utterly unprotected I knew not at 
what hour I might suffer personal violence. 

I cannot write these facts coldly, I cannot speak them 
calmly, the wound has never healed, and when touched the abra- 
sion shows acute inflammation. Dear hearts, I am making you 
tired, but my life was potent with golden dreams, which that 
cruel war turned into hydra form. The scenes we forget are not 
erased. While the engulfing tide of circumstances implunge 
the past in texture of new design, yet, in the nightime when the 
winds sigh around the corners, when stray, restless birds sing 



130 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

piteous notes, or a distant bell tinkles, when shadows play fitfully 
across the window pane, thought untrammeled flies down the dim 
penumbra of the past, bringing again to life the scenes that were 
graven on our hearts when life was young. The Federal army 
robbed my children of their rights before they were born ! The 
Old South with all its resources was theirs by inlieritance, but 
in lieu of its advantages, they have been made a part of the brick 
and mortar worked into the building of the jSTew South. The 
precious darlings of a former generation lie coffinless on many 
a battlefield, the darlings of this generation, full of the Spartan 
blood of the mothers of the New South, stand invincible in the 
faith of the ultimate glory of the new principle for which our 
country surrendered its all. Dead bodies are not all that await a 
resurrection to immortal life! Principles founded on God':j 
eternal truth, though crushed to earth hold the germ of Divin- 
ity, and can never die. Some time a pean of victory will be 
eounded^ coming from all over this great republic, yea the 
voices from hundreds of battlefields will write in proclaiming 
the righteous laurels of our South, and the glorifying of Him 
who said: "Not by power, not by might, but by my spirit com- 
eth victory." 

The hopes so fondly cherished lie 
Deep buried in the misty past, 
Ci-ushed, yet they cannot die 
Their merit is so vast. 

Let me dream of their beauty. 
The joy of their pristine life ; 
To reillume by my duty 
The charm with which they are rife. 

I cannot shut out the glory, 
That covered life's morning, 
Nor darken the gilded story. 
That grew in its roseate dawning. 

Oh youth ! the elusive maiden 
Has slipped unbidden away. 
But gems with which she was laden 
Are my treasures today. 



Eeminiscences of the Old South 131 



Resplendent in virtue supernal 
They long shut in my bosom 
Will spring into life eternal 
Crowning the theme I have chosen. 

We look on the New South today, 
With pride in its success take pari;, 
But 0, the Old South is hidden away, 
In every Old Southerner's heart. 



JEFFERSON DAVIS MONUMENT. 

The project to erect an appropriate monument to the great 
Chieftain of the Confederacy was undertaken by the veterans 
years ago. They raised about $20,000. The Daughters of the 
Confederacy, just as they always do, then took hold of the mat- 
ter and they increased the fund to $70,000. The G-eorgia 
United Daughters of the Confederacy, who built a Winnie 
Davis dormitory at the Georgia Normal School, have been very 
active in the work for the Davis monument at Richmond, and 
Greorgia has the credit of leading all the States in the amount 
contributed. The city of Riclmiond donated a very eligible 
lot at the crossing of Franklin and Cedar streets, near the 
splendid R. E. Lee monument. It is fitting that the monuments 
to the leading civil and military heroes of the great cause shall 
be so near each other. Very near to these will be monuments 
each to Gen. J. E. B. Stuart, and to Gen. Fitz Hugh Lee. These 
monuments will all stand in the Lee district, the new and com- 
ing choice residence section of the glorious city. 

This splendid monument to Mr. Davis was unveiled at the 
Confederate reunion in 1907. Dirt was formally broken on 
the 7th of November. 1905. by Mrs. Thomas McCullough, of 
Staunton, president of the Davis Monument Association. Hon. 
J. Taylor Ellyson, lieutenant governor elect, a noble veteran, 
and others, also took part in the historic ceremonies. The picks 
and shovels will be preserved in the Confederate museum. 



SKETCH OF MRS. JARED C. MARTIN. 

Bij Miss Mollie D. Martin, of Little Rod:. 

Mrs. Mary Martin was born near Gallatin, Tenn., January 
10, 1809. Her parents, John and Sarah Douglass, with other 
relatives came in a keel boat to Arkansas territory in 1819. 
They settled near where Little Eoek has since, been built. There 
was only one little log cabin here then, and it was occupied by 
the man who ran the ferry boat, and was near a spring that 
is in the old state house grounds. 

In this sparsely settled country Mary Douglass grew up. 
She improved the few opportunities of attending the country 
schools ; she had a remarkable memory, and could talk for hours 
of the old settlers, all over the State, and of her large connec- 
tion in Tennessee. Here in her happy home she was married 
to Jared C. Martin, January 25, 1827. They built a comfor- 
table home in Pulaski county and raised a large family. Her 
husband died November 7, 1857, and the care of her children 
and slaves devolved on her; she bravely did her best to make 
all dependent on her comfortable and happy. She was a sin- 
cere Christian, and sang sweet old sacred songs as she went 
about her household work. Her beloved father, John Douglass, 
died January, 1861. She was very desolate with husband and 
father both gone; but the dark days of war came soon and there 
was not time to think of self, or our own trouble. Her hus- 
band had been a patriotic, public spirited man, and had often 
said tp her that he feared a Civil war was coming soon, and he 
thought a war with some foreign nation would be a blessing in 
uniting the people of the United States. Slie loved quiet and 
peace, and the idea of war was dreadful, but when it came 
there was no one more willing to do all she could for the Con- 
federate soldiers. Her home was just two miles from Little 
Eock, near the river. The Confederate army often camped in 
a wooded part of the farm; they called the place Camp Texas. 
Her home was a home for Confederate soldiers and often it was 



Sketch of Mrs. Jared C. Martin 133 

crowded with the sick. She nursed them and cared for them 
tenderly, she said their mothers had worked and cared for them, 
and it seemed dreadful for them to be neglected when they were 
sick and wounded. Some of the wounded from the fight of Cot- 
ton Plant stopped awhile at her house, and one wounded man 
stayed three months; he recovered and went to his command. 
Some were very sick and three from Texas died. In the spring 
of 1863 her dear old home had to be abandoned. The line of 
breast works that Gen. Price had built below Little Rock ex- 
tended entirely across her farm, her houses and every improve- 
ment were entirely destroyed, cotton burned, a hundred and 
thirty bales, and with her younger children she sought refuge in 
an old place she had ten miles southwest of Little Eock. Here 
she and her four children toiled as they never had before, 
plowing, hoeing, harvesting, cooking, washing, spinning, weav- 
ing, and often after they had succeeded in raising a little crop, 
the enemv came and took it all. She had a wagon and a yoke 
of oxen, the only wagon and team in the neighborhood, and the 
women living near brought their grain to her house, and she 
sent it eight miles to mill for them. She was a fine manager 
and her family never suffered for the necessaries of life, and 
when Confederate scouts would occasionally come, she always 
had something for them to eat and if they were in need of 
clothes she would find some for them. Her two grown sons 
were in the army and the servants all gone, stock of every 
description liad been taken. She never despaired but worked on 
trusting in God for help and comfort. 

Wlien the cruel war was over with nothing but tlie land 
left, in her old age, she had to begin to gather up something to 
make a home again ; she worked bravely for a few years, and 
was taken to her reward February 14, 1877. 



ARKANSAS SISTERS OF MERCY IN THE WAR. 

By J. M. Lu-cey. 

While describing the work of the noble and patriotic 
women of the South during the long and heroic period of four 
years of Civil war, something would be lacking if we should 
fail to mention in appropriate terms the good deeds of the 
Sisters of Mercy. It happened, at the time mentioned, that 
they were the only Catholic sisterhood in Arkansas, and that 
their houses at Little Eock, Fort Smith and Helena, though 
they were strictly literary academies, and though the sisters 
were trained as teachers only, were freely opened out to the 
needs of the sick and wounded soldiers, and the services of the 
sisters given as circumstances demanded. Some of the papers 
printed will no doubt furnish many interesting details of hos- 
pital work at Little Eock, Fort Smith and Helena ; and from 
them some idea may be fonned of the opportunities afforded 
to the Sisters of Mercy to carry into effect their ardent desires. 
Their visits to the local hospitals in charge of the ladies' asso- 
ciations were always highly appreciated by the patients and 
the officers in charge. 

THEIR WORK IN LITTLE ROCK. 

The number of sick and wounded soldiers was greater in 
Little Eock from the very beginning of the war than in any 
other city of the State. In 1863 there was a notable increase, 
so that the ordinary Confederate army hospitals were over- 
crowded. The Sisters of Mercy of St. Mary's Academy fitted 
up one of their own buildings and received as many as could 
possibly be allowed entrance. The death rate was great, two 
or three dying daily. Everything possible for the amelioration 
of suffering was done. After the capture of the city by General 
Steele, Servtember 10, 1863, the position of the sisters became 
almost unbearable, on account of the rude behavior of federal 
officers and soldiers, who resented the kind treatment which the 



Sisters of Mercy in the War 135 

Sisters of Mercy were giving to the Confederate sick and 
wounded. Many years afterward Rev. Mother Alphonsus said 
to the writer: "We took care of the Confederates and the Fed- 
erals took catre of us." 

' The retreat of General Sterling Price from his raid in 
Missouri in September of 1864 also brought many a poor sol- 
dier to the care of the Sisters of Mercy. His troops suffered 
terribly from cold, sickness and exposure. The indefatigable 
efforts of the sisters to soothe at least the dying agonies of their 
patients made a profound impression, and several soldiers em- 
braced the Catholic faith, as much perhaps as a testimonial of 
gratitude to their holy nurses as a conviction of religious truth. 
Very Rev. Patrick O'Reilly (Father Pat), V. G., from June, 
1862, to February, 1867, administrator of the diocese, was the 
pastor of St. Andrews' cathedral, then the only Catholic church 
in the city. 

The following sisters were members of the community of 
St. Marv^'s Academy, Little Rock, Ark., in the period of the 
Civil war: Mother Alphonsus, Sister M. Xavier, Sister M. Ag- 
nes, Sister M. Stanislaus, Sister M. Vincent, Sister Rose, Sister 
Mary and Sister Michael. 

ST. anne's at fort smith. 

St. Anne's Academy was located by the Sisters of Mercy, 
1851, in the old army headquarters of General Zachary Taylor, 
just outside the city limits of those times, on an elevated and 
beautiful site. Their boarding pupils came from the borders 
of Texas, Indian Territory and several counties of Arkansas. 
The day pupils from the town and surrounding country homes 
combined with the boarders to make what was called in those 
times a large school. The Civil war frightened away the board- 
ers, and in the later stages of it. the greater number of day 
scholars, also, as parents were chary of risking the absence of 
their little ones from home. Their fear was all the more 
intense from the fact that the Indians just across the river 
were divided into two hostile camps, those under Stand Watie 
were faithful to the Confederacy while those under Opotheo- 
hola fought for the Union. In 1864, John Harrington, a 



130 COKFEDERATE WoMEN OF ARKANSAS 

very worthy citizen, was murdered and scalped by the Indians 
within three miles of Fort Smith. 

Another circumstanjce should be mentioned, not merely 
that the position of the Sisters of Mercy may be better under- 
stood, but also that the noble sacrifices of the women of Fort 
Smith and the State may be properly estimated. To give the 
little delicacies to the sick and wounded, generally called for per- 
sonal privations. It is related that a woman in Kichmond, Va., 
in the last year of the war, when scarcely a cup of tea or coffee 
could be had for love or money, was entertaining Gen. Robert 
E. Lee. He came to her house fagged and worn out, to rest an 
hour or two. She knew his love for a cup of good tea. It hap- 
pened that there was barely enough to make two cups of tea. 
She gave Gen. Lee one, and, having deftly filled her own cup 
with colored water, prevailed on him to take the second cup, 
which revived his exhausted strength in a wonderful manner. 
She knew well enough that had he known the facts he would 
not have taken a second cup. This is a specimen of the work 
of Southern women. Hundreds of instances could be given. 

In those early days there were no railroads. Large side- 
wheel steamboats traversed the waters of the Arkansas river 
up as far as Fort Smith. The merchants were accustomed to 
get six or twelve months' supplies at a time, and every citizen 
was expected to act accordingly. Steamboats ceased to run af- 
ter 1861, except as army transports. Some effort was made 
to obviate the necessity of distant supplies, by home manufac- 
ture of leather, salt, breadstuffs and such necessaries, and by 
the raising of chickens and hogs for meat. All the grains that 
could be procured, barley, wheat, corn, and also sweet potatoes, 
were used to obtain a substitute for coffee. But time and trou- 
ble rendered almost every substitute a costly and sometimes a 
dangerous affair for the noble women who visited the hospitals. 

In fitting out the soldiers for the campaign of Oak Hill, 
Elk Horn and Prairie Grove one article was generally a roll of 
lint bandage for wounds which every soldier was expected to re- 
ceive. While some of the soldiers, for reasons best known to 
themselves, preferred the articles that came from the hands of 
special young ladies, many others thought there was some virtue 




Rev. Mother M. Alphonsus CartoUy War Nurse, 
of Little Rock, 



Sisters of Mercy in the War 137 

in the rolls of lint that came from the convent, especially as 
those contained an inside package of needle and thread. 

The time had arrived all too soon when war put on its 
most serious aspect. When the gay youth and confidant soldiers, 
returning from a campaign, appeared with only the semblance 
of a uniform. Many were mere boys, and when they appeared 
before the Sisters of Mercy wrapped in tatters and rags, without 
shoes and with only a show of a hat, the sight was enough to 
move any woman's heart. The barn and other habitable out- 
houses of the convent were utilized as sanitariums, while food 
and clothing were being prepared. In a week or two these 
soldiers would feel strong enough to join their command, but 
the rustic sanitarium seemed to be always well patronized. The 
soldiers who were thus lienefitted were frequently reminded of 
their own homes by the kindly sympathy of the sisters. That 
womanly influence which brightens so many homes and softens 
the stronger ways of men, had been so long absent from the 
lives of the soldiers, that one or two weeks spent in the com- 
pany of the Sisters of Mercy seemed to restore the equilibrium of 
their existence. 

AIDED WOUNDED OF BOTH ARMIES. 

The day of the battle of Fort Smith, August 24, 1864, 
when General Cooper attempted to drive the federal comman- 
der, General Curtis, from the town, brought great excitement 
to the convent. A guard of soldiers had been sent in the morn- 
ing to all the churches and as the men came out they were 
marched out to the trenches and put to work throwing up forti- 
fications. In the attacking army of Confederates were many 
of the sons and relations of the men working that Sunday on 
federal, fortifications. General Cooper was repulsed. Then the 
work of the Sisters of Mercy began in earnest for the care of 
the wounded. While their personal sympathies were naturally 
in favor of the South, their vows of religion led them to treat 
with every possible kindness the federal sick and wounded. The 
Confederates held Fort Smith until 1863, when General Blunt 
captured it without a battle, outflanking with a superior force 
General W. L. Cabell. What the Sisters of Mercv had done un- 



138 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

der Confederate occupation, they continued to do under federal 
rule. It is well to state that neither Confederate nor Federal 
soldiers ever offered any indignity to the Sisters of Mercy in 
any part of the state. An occasional guard of soldiers would 
be sent to protect their property. At Little Eock General Steele 
maintained a guard at the convent for seventeen months. 

GIANT TROOPER CAUSED PANIC. 

The convent of Fort Smith was situated in a beautiful 
grove and only separated by a roadway from the larger grove 
where the church and pastor's house were located. The Confed- 
erate army had always respected the rights of church and sisters, 
so that the groves had not been used as a camp ground. Quan- 
trell, the noted guerrilla chieftain, arrived at Fort Smith in 
1863 with a squadron of 200 cavalry. The men wore the regu- 
lation blue of the Union army, heavy overcoats, hats and boots. 
As they generally captured a Federal train every month or two, 
their dress was spic and span. As for arms, they were literally 
loaded with them. A rifle was slung over the shoulder, a heavy 
navy revolver was belted on either side, a good sized knife 
showed itself, and a sabre completed the accoutrement. They 
pitched camp in the grove opposite the convent and within a few 
minutes one of the troopers stood in the doorway of the school. 
The boys and girls had studied mythology and had read about 
giants, so that when they looked up from their books and 
caught sight of Qi^antrell's trooper he seemed to be at least 
ten feet high, and with overcoat enough to carry them all 
away. They sprang through the windows in every direction 
and made their way to the town, where they reported that 
Quantrell's men were pillaging the convent. A prominent 
Catholic of the town, father of the writer of this paper, who 
knew Quantrell, hailed him as he was riding by and told him 
the news. Quantrell said that sucli an affair was not his style 
of business and immediately dispatched an officer to look into 
the matter. The trooper in coming to the school wanted merely 
a chunk of burning wood to start the camp fire. Matches were 
too precious to be used except in cases of extreme necessity. 
Quantrell was a mild-mannered man in his intercourse with 



Sisters of Mercy in the War 139 

people. His medium height and fair complexion, with reddish 
hair and beard, would not indicate the extraordinary bravery 
which he exhibited in time of battle, nor anything of that terri- 
ble retaliation which followed the extraordinary outrages which 
he and many of his men had endured in Kansas and Missouri. 

Very Eeverend Lawrence Smyth e, V. F., was the pastor at 
Fort Smith from 1861 to the end of the war. The following sis- 
ters were members of tbe community of St. Anne's academy 
from 1861 to 1865: 

Sisters M. Baptist, John, Magdalene, Vincentia and De 
Sales. 

THE WORK IN HELENA. 

The Sisters of Mercy had acquired in the late fifties the 
beautiful residence of the Biscoe family, adjoining that of Gen- 
eral Hindman and General Cleburne, for their convent and 
school. Eev. Philip Shanahan was the pastor. Rt. Rev. An- 
drew Byrne, the first Catholic bishop in Arkansas, died there 
June IS, 1863. 

The hospital work of the sisters was much the same in 
Helena as in Fort Smith and Little Eock. It was subjected 
to much irregularity on account of the delay in estahlishing 
any general system of hospital work. The medical staff was 
at all times less in numbers and in suitable equipment than 
even necessity required. This is why the ladies of the differ- 
ent cities and the Sisters of Mercy were almost always thrown 
upon their own individual resources. This will also explain why 
few exact reports can be made of much of the work. 

It is §aid that disease Idlls more soldiers than battles. 
Helena was at all times a military center and the hospitals never 
closed their doors. A^Hien General Holmes made a furious at- 
tack on Helena July 4, 1863, then held by General Curtis, the 
Union commander, the Sisters of Mercy from their elevated 
convent were able to see the battle raging in all its fury. They 
saw the standard-bearer in an advanced position fall to the 
ground, trailing the banner of the South, and, in spite of their 
prayers, they saw victory go down with tbe stars and bars. 



140 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

"Where before the altar hung 
The proud banner, which with prayer, 
Had been consecrated there; 

And the nuns' sweet h^onns were heard the while, 
Sung low in the dim, mysterious aisle." 

The repulse of General Holmes is said to have weighed 
heavily on his mind for many years. He was sure of victoi-y and 
looked upon his plans as perfect. Within a few hours after the 
close of the battle the Sisters of Mercy turned their St. Cather- 
ine's Academy into both a morgue and a hospital. They helped 
to coffin many a poor soldier, if a rough box could be styled a 
coffin. The wounded in all stages of suffering demanded imme- 
diate attention. Those only who have visited a battle field after 
an engagement can understand what the good ladies of Helena 
and the Sisters of Mercy were obliged to endure in the perform- 
ance of hospital work. 

In conclusion it may be truly said that as great as the 
work of the women of the South was in the tumult of war, a 
large share of the responsibilities consequent of the result of 
the long contest fell to them in the care of the widow and 
orphan. The Confederacy was filled with children without 
father or mother and it is well known to those who are familiar 
with the life of the institutions under charge of the Sisters of 
Mercy, that many a child was reared to a high and happy career 
through their noble charity. 



BATES AND THE FLAG. 

Mrs. tFosiah Obear taught a private school just after the 
war in Winnsboro, S. C. One morning her little scholars 
assemblied in front of her home and stood on the sidewalk, to see 
Corporal or Sergeant Bates, of the United States army, pass. 
In his arms he carried a large United States flag. He was 
dressed in black velvet and raised his hat as he passed the little 
scholars. He walked and carried this flag all through the 
Southern States, just after the surrender, yet no liarm befell 
him or his fla^j. M. R. Gantt. 



FEDERAL RAIDERS OF MISSISSIPPI. 

By Mrs. Mary Brunson, of Little Rod-. 
Although I am now and have been for many^years a resi- 
dent of Arkansas, the incidents that I narrate occurred at the 
old family home near Byhalia, Miss. ]\Iy father, C. N. Stevens, 
and my two brothers, William Stevens and James Bailey, were 
Confederate soldiers. 

KAID BY YANKEE SOLDIERS. 

The women of the house had been spinning yam and 
weaving cloth very quietly until they were able to make two 
suits of gray, two soldiers' caps, and two pairs of soldiers' boots. 
These were precious articles. We personally placed them upstairs 
in a barrel with a lot of old rags filled in on top. We had rea- 
son to believe that if the Yankees found them the things would 
be lost and our house burned. The Yank raiding party came 
as we feared they would, but failed to find our barrel. They 
found many other things; in fact, looted the house, and hav- 
ing compelled my mother to cook almost everything edible in 
the house, left with all our stock. We grieved especially over 
the loss of our family horse and buggy mule. As all our neigh- 
bors suffered in like manner, however, we had no special reason 
to complain. 

THE FATHER REPORTED KILLED. 

We were most cnielly distressed by the news that father 
had been killed, but later on we learned he was in Memphis in 
the Irvin block, a prisoner. Dr. ]\Iiller of Cocrum, Miss., was 
with liim. They had passed themselves off as citizens, but every 
moment feared that some one would recognize them. In three 
months they managed to get paroled. Father returned home 
and for a time 'all our sorrows were forgotten. 

COTTON $1 A POUND. 

When the Southern army was obliged to retreat it frequent- 



143 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

ly happened that quantities of cotton had been accumulated to 
ship to Europe, and when it was seen that it would all fall into 
the hands of the enemy, the Confederate general would order 
it to be burned. Everybody would try to hide what they could. 
My mother had saved some cotton belonging to my brother, 
James, which she had stored in an outhouse and covered with 
fodder. This was saved, and she sold it for $70 in gold, which 
she buried, and when my brother came home she gave it to him. 
The blockades, general and local, of those times made it very 
difficult to procure the necessaries of life, even with gold. In 
1865 flour was $17 a barrel and salt was $50 a barrel. 



WHIPPED THE YANKEES WITH POPGUNS. 

The tedious marches and the uionotouv of the camp was 
often relieved by irrepressible humor and ready rustic wit. One 
of the most amusing incidents was concluded only with the war. 
An enthusiastic leader of the South had, at the outset of the 
struggle, declared that if we seceded fix)an the Union therei 
would be no war, but oven if there was we could readily whip 
the Yankees with popguns. After the war, while addressing 
an audience, he was asked by an old maimed soldier: 

"I say. Judge, ain't you the same man that told us before 
the war that we could whip the Yankees with popguns?" 

''Yes,'' replied the speaker, "and we could have done so, 
but confound them, they would not fight us that way." 



RAID OF CLAYTON'S REGIMENT. 

By Mrs. S. D. Dickson, of Lockesburg. 

I noticed a statement in the Lockesburg Enterprise where 
the women of Arkansas were invited to write and tell how they 
suffered in the war of '61-'65. I could not write you all I did 
suffer wlien Ool. Clayton, the Northern man, was at Pine Bluff. 
He sent his men to make raids on the Southerners and destroy 
all they could, besides taking everything of value for themselves. 
The first thing they started out to do was to take everything 
they could find. Twenty bales of cotton were taken out of the 
smokehouse at one time, five horses were also taken. They 
searched the house and got every article of any value they could 
find. Sometimes it would take one and a half days for us to get 
any food. 

We had three large bams full of corn. Twenty wagons 
were sent at a time and nearly all the corn taken. My husband 
was in the Confederate army and I was left with two little 
children to care for. Two thousand pounds of meat were taken 
from us and my life threatened if the key of my trunk was 
not delivered to them. Clayton's men went do^\^l in our pas- 
ture, and all the beeves were killed and taken away. I could 
not rest at night for being uneasy about my husband, and for 
fear they would kill us or bum our house down. Our slaves 
made all they could on the farm with hoes for we had no horses. 
1 worked in the field myself with my children following me. 

One time the Federals overtook the slaves hauling cotton 
from the gin, and it was taken from them. My husband died 
in '81 and I was left penniless with five children. The Federals 
broke us up and after the war my husband was only an invalid, 
and I had harder times than during the war. I am now 64 years 
old and am penniless as I was then. I cannot work much. Well, 
I will stop at this point as I could not tell it all anyway. 



"THE DAUGHTER OF THE FIRST ARKANSAS 
REGIMENT." 

By Miss Laura Go van, of Marianna. 

The subject of this sketch, Mrs. Charles Kichard Cockle, 
is the eldest daughter of the late Major General James F. 
Fagan, of Arkansas. She has the proud distinction of bearing 
the title of "Daughter of the First Arkansas Regiment," hav- 
ing been so christened and adopted by the regiment while it 
was encamped at Brook's Station. Virginia, in 1861, the regi- 
ment having, immediately upon its organization left, under 
command of General (then Colonel) Fagan, for Virginia, Mrs, 
Fagan with her two children accompanying her husband. 

The adoption occurred at time of dress parade, the regi- 
mental ceremony of the day, the companies in their best attire, 
the officers in full dress, guns burnished, bayonets gleaming in 
the sunlight, the sound of music's martial strains caught up in 
the soft spring air and wafted across Virginia's hills, and over 
all floated the folds of the Southern flag, as yet unriddled by 
shot or shell. Mrs. Cockle was at that time four years of age; 
her dress was typical of the inherited instincts of the soldier 
which have characterized her whole life, red pants, a white 
blouse with embroidered ruffle at neck and wrists; over this a 
Zouave jacket of red, the small three-cornered hat of tlie same 
bright, warm hue, with ribbon rosettes bearing the colors of the 
Southern standard. The address of adoption was delivered on 
behalf of the regiment by the Adjutant, who was afterwards 
Major Bronaugh, commanding a battahon of the troops. Rev. 
R. W. Trimble, chaplain of the regiment, christened the little 
Irene, "Daughter of the First Arkansas Regiment." 

The touching and beautiful incident is a part of the lost 
cause, and has lived in the hearts of the veterans, witness their 
tribute to their "Daughter," so touchingly bestowed only a short 
time ago, when the reorimental flag, the precious relic which has 
been so tenderly, reverently preserved through all the years, was 





Mrs. J. J. Sample ' 
Daughter of Gen. D. C. Govan 



"The Daughter of the First Arkansas Regiment'' 145 

presented to her hj the veteran? of the Confederate camp at 
iS[ewport, Ark. To insure the preservation of the treasure, Mrs, 
Cockle has since presented it to the Confederate Museum at 
Richmond, Virginia. 

During a visit to her sister, Mrs. Watson, in Newport, Mrs. 
Cockle was given a reception by the loyal daughters of Arkansas, 
who, through her, paid tribute to lier father. Arkansas" illus- 
trious son. Colonel Minor, in behalf of the "Daughters," pre- 
sented Mrs, Cockle a little flag, with the following touching re- 
marks: "As the 'daughter of the First Arkansas Regiment,' 
we do you but slight honor in this impromptu affair. Your gal- 
lant father led this flag in many a deadly battle, honored it and 
loved it until the day of his death, in peace ; but bowed ever 
with submission to the inevitable when the conditions so re- 
quired. In behalf of the Daughters of the Lucian C, Cause 
Chapter, I present you with this slight token of the renewed 
love of those of the First Arkansas Regiment who are left 
behind for the time being, and yet cherish the love that was close 
and sweet in the sixties, hoping that you have in no wise di- 
minished in the faith you imbibed in those days, but will hold 
to your children's children and their generations the old love for 
the South, and that the Confederacy will, in the memory of 
all, live forever.*' 

Mrs. Cockle was the guest of the veterans of Fagan Camp 
at Barren Fork. Ark., in the fall of 1905. A parade of the 
veterans through the little town, and a service at the church, 
were features of the welcome and abundant hospitality accorded 
the daughter of their old comrade. The occasion was replete 
with reminiscences of valliant deeds in the heroic struggle for 
the right, and pictures of the past would grow, "soldiers of the 
Confederacy," standing as they might have stood on the eve of 
battle, some summer day in the early sixties, in long trim lines, 
silk and gold above them, and the green hills of Virginia stretch- 
ing away behind ; the pictures would give way, and in their stead 
with youthful, eager, boyish faces; with the flashing of flags 
would appear the reality of the hour, the veterans sitting there 
listening to 

'The tales that will not die.' " 



X 



SKETCH OF MRS. W. F. SLEMMONS. 

By Mrs. Willie Slemmons Duke, of Monticello. 

My mother, Mrs. W. F, Slemmons, often speaks of her first 
experience with "the Yankees," as most thrilling. Being 
the wife of an officer, (Colonel in 2nd Arkansas Cavalry), she 
had more to contend with than did her neighbors. Like all 
other Southern women, she had talked of and dreaded the com- 
ing of the "blue coats/' but when they did come, it was quite 
an unpleasant surprise. My father had just gotten home from 
a long campaign in Mississippi, the night before, and that morn- 
ing after being assured by his scouts that there were no Fed- 
erals in this vicinity he went into town to transact some busi- 
ness. About 11 o'clock, the faithful negro girl "Beck" called 
from the back yard, "Lawsy, Miss Marthy, de soldiers is com- 
in," and on looking out my mother saw the soldiers, and also 
saw that they wore the blue. Her first thought was of her lit- 
tle children playing in a nearby grove, so charging Beck to hide 
the colonel's belongings, she rushed out. but was halted at the 
gate, but was finally permitted to go on. When she returned 
with the frightened babies clinging to her, she found that her 
house had been searched from top to botton, but they had 
found no trace of my father, as Beck with the native cunning of 
her race, had not only concealed everything belonging to him, 
but had told the soldiers such clever stories of "not 'spectin' 
Marse Williams for two or three days," that they went away, 
taking with them three valauble horses. 

Late in the afternoon she received the welcome news that 
Col. Slemmons was safe at his father's home, three miles from 
town. He had been hidden in the loft of the Jones' hotel 
when the soldiers passed through town. On leaving town afoot, 
he fortunately met my grandmother Howard on her favorite 
horse, Pompey. On learning his plight she dismounted at once 
and gave him her horse on which mount he proceeded to 
Louisiana to join Gen. Kirby Smith. When my mother began 



Sketch of Mrs. W, F. Slemmons 147 

to pack up his clothing to send to him, she found that Beck 
had hidden his uniform in a feather bed. Needless to say it 
was in a sad condition. The next day the same brigade com- 
manded by Major McCauley came back, and on learning in 
town how they had been duped in regard to Col. Slemmons' 
whereabouts, they came to the house, took everything they could 
carry — silver, dishes, provisions, even the dinner cooking on 
the stove, which they gave to a wagonload of negroes who were 
going with them. Finding the carefully hoarded stock of sugar 
and meal too heavy, they scattered it along the road. They tried 
in vain to induce the faithful Beck to join them, but she re- 
jected their offers of freedom, money, etc., with fine scorn. In 
a final burst of rage they poured a bottle of turpentine in the 
hall, and set fire to it, then departed, but with only the a,ssist- 
ance of the negro girl, mother fought the fiames, and quenched 
the fire before any great damage was done. Major McCauley 
was not with his men at the time 'and came later to apologize 
for their vandalism. As he left he said : "Tell Col. Slemmons 
to come up and surrender like a little man. Ill be glad to see 
him and treat him right." Mother replied that perhaps when 
the meeting took place he wouldn't be so glad, and this proved 
true, for only a short time after the Major was captured at the 
battle of Mark's Mill and on learning who his captor was, said, 
"Well, Colonel, I'm not half as glad to see you as I thought 
I'd be when I sent a message to vou bv vour wife." 



MISPLACED SYMPATHY. 

He was a physician in the hospital, and had a heart as 
tender as a woman's. He had just seen a poor fellow die and 
his sympathies went out to the wife, who must so soon hear the 
sad story. 

Nerving himself to meet her, he told her the news as gently 
as kind words could clothe such intelligence. 

She looked at him soberly and there was a tone of sadness 
in her voice as she said: 

"He was a good husband." 

Meditating a moment, her voice deepened in melancholy 
as she spoke again. "I'm afeard the men ai^e goin' tar be 
powerful scarce after this war is over." 



SUFFERINGS OF ELLIS FAMILY AT BAILY 
SPRINGS, ALA. 

By Mrs. Com Williamson Rodgers^ of Nashville. 

My grandfather, Albert Gallatin Ellis, a proud son of Vir- 
ginia, and my grandmother, Mary Llewellyn Hewlott Ellis, 
owned and resided at Bailey Springs, Ala., a summer resort, 
nine miles from Florence, a thriving town. Their son, William 
P., a lad at college, two daughters, Virginia and Mattie, and a 
grandson, six or seven years old, comprised the family. My 
grandfather being too old for active military service and feeble 
in health, besides, could be at home very little on account of 
the villainous tories, who persecuted him and all other repu- 
table Southerners. When the Yankee invaders came they soon 
decided that Bailey Springs with its ample buildings and 
grounds was an ideal place for winter quarters and rendezvous 
generally. Here they would camp for months at a time. 

The officers were usually well behaved, though the privates 
were thieving, impudent and often tyrannical, plundering and 
pillaging everything that could be found. The cattle, farm 
stock and sometimes the slaves were sent some distance across 
Shoal Creek for safe keeping. The supplies, hogshead of sugar, 
molasses, etc., were rolled. under the house, which was high at 
one end and then covered with brush and rubbish. 

The jewelry, silver and such valuables were hid numbers of 
times and at last, Jennie, the daughter, a nei-vous girl, hur- 
riedly buried the jewelry on approach of the Yankees and in her 
fright could never remember where. It was never found unless 
the raiders got it. 

A large number of faithful slaves, houses, land and stock, 
were to be looked after and cared for. Grandmother and her 
daughters managed all this, besides always finding time to sew, 
knit and look after our "dear boys in gray," of which they 
never tired. Many a wounded soldier sick and discouraged 
found succor under their hospitable roof, and was sent away 




Mrs. C. R. Cockle 
Daughter of Gen. J. F. Fagan 



Sufferings of Ellis Family 149 

well and happy, ready to enter the service again. The tories 
and bushwhackers often committed the most horrible crimes. 
Avoiding the war they sneaked about to i>ersecute those who 
were left at home, women, children and feeble and aged men, 
ro])bing and destroying on every hand. The little grandson, 
Willie A. Ellis, was sent every few days to a settlement three 
miles distant to learn the news and the movements of the two 
annies. Mr. Wilson a wealthy gentleman, lived there with two 
snuall nephews. One morning Willie was sent as usual for news and 
on his return related that Mr. Wilson had been murdered and 
burned by the Yankees. He was sick in bed when the Yan- 
kees asked where his money was and on his failure to produce it 
piled papers saturated with turpentine on him and set it on 
fire, burning the old man to death ; killing one nephew, wound- 
ing the other who rolled under the bed and escaped to tell the 
awful tale. His slaves all fled and the whole country was hor- 
ror-stricken at the enormity of this crime. Many were afraid 
to have burning light at night and some hid themselves away 
imtil they felt the danger over. These heinous crimes were 
often committed and caused continual fear and consternation 
among the women and children. Oh, the agony of the poor 
women and children and the infirm men, they never knew at 
what moment they might be pounced upon and sacrificed. Their 
helplessness was most pathetic, and oftentimes they were even 
afraid to get out and bury their holy dead. How I wish a full 
history of the war in the South, its depredations, desecrations 
and destruction both of holy and unholy things could be had. 
The history of the Turkish and Armenian war would pale into 
nothingness beside it, since they are unchristian and little bet- 
ter is expected of them. At one time a number of Yankees 
came and appropriated my grandmother's breakfast as fast and 
as often as the cook could prepare it. 

Finally, the daughter, Mattie. a plucky girl, decided she 
should have her breakfast and stood guard while it was being 
cooked. When it was again ready a Yank was on hand, ready 
also and reaching his hand to help himself when Mattie flourish- 
ed a stick of stove-wood and said, "touch if you dare." The 
man drew back and skipped out, pretending to be much fright- 



150 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

ened, he was cowed because of the cowardly trick. The whole 
country was beseiged by Yankees and picketed so as to prevent 
passing, buying or selling, and often supplies would run short. 
Oftentimes rye, barley and potatoes would be parched and a con- 
coction made of it to imitate coffee, no doubt a poor imitation, 
but better than none. Shoes and gloves were made at home 
from skins of animals killed at home, the tallow candle, and 
those of beeswax and resin supplied the light after coal oil 
gave out. These were the arc lights of the war. 

My grandfather continued to grow worse and at last suc- 
cumbed to heart disease in 1864. I think grandmother sur- 
vived him many years. Two daughters, Mary Ellis Williamson 
and Mattie Ellis Caruthers and William P. Ellis are still en- 
joying a lonely old age, and William A. Ellis, the grandson, 
is now a middle-aged father and husband. There are living, 
eighteen grandchildren, and seventeen great-grandchildren 
from this grand old couple. May they all live to honor and 
glorify their ancestors as they should be honored and glorified. 



ARKANSAS WOMAN CAPTURED BY A GUNBOAT. 

Mrs. Samuel Gondelock, of Union District, went West with 
her husband just prior to the war. He was Idlled in Arkansas 
while serving with the Western ajnny of the Cnnfederacy, and 
with her two little girls the mother attempted to get back from 
Arkansas to South Carolina. The Mississippi Eiver was then, 
patrolled by Federal gunboats and as she was being rowed 
across she was espied and stopped, brought aboard a gunboat 
and her trunks opened and contents examined. Nothing incrim- 
inating being found she was landed on the Eastern bank and 
finally reached home. J. L. Strain. 



THE WILLIAMSON FAMILY OF ALABAMA. 

By Mrs. Cora Williamson Rodgers, of Nashville. 

My father, Capt, Samuel Zachariah Williamson and his 
wife, Mary H. Ellis Williamson, were but recently married, 
when my father was called to the front. He soon became Cap- 
tain of 2nd Mississippi Partizans, serving till the close of the 
war, leaving"' my mother and her twin babies, and a small son 
of a former wife, in the care of God and the faithful slaves. 
The negroes made the crop and protected the little family as 
best they could. 

My mother had mortal fear of the enemy, who robbed, pil- 
laged and destroyed every available thing. At one time they 
carried off all the provisions on the place, 'and when she told 
them there was nothing left for them to eat, one of the inso- 
lent creatures turned and threw her a package and told her she 
could keep that. It proved to be a bundle of spice, which is 
good in its place but a poor substitute for bread. They drove 
my father's handsome carriage and high-bred horses to the 
door and loaded it with books from a splendid library. These 
they had no use for, but scattered and destroyed them most wan- 
tonly. Years afterwards my father had a letter from someone 
saying, "he had found his name in a book on the parlor table 
in the house of a man living in Michigan. It was never re- 
covered however. Their jewelry and silverware was sent down 
to a friend's in the river bottom, who kept them until the ter- 
rible days were over. But my mother s fine dresses and in fact, 
everything else were carried away by raiders and thieves. 

Once my father, on arriving home from the battles, heard 
of a woman who had some smuggled coffee in the neighborhood. 
He remounted his horse and rode for hours to overtake her and 
buy some, even a little, for be it remembered, that coffee, su- 
gar, provisions and medicines were not allowed by the Yan- 
kees to be sold to Southerners, who had possession of Memphis, 



152 Confederate Women of Aekansas 

and the Yankees were trying to starve them into surrender. 
Provisions and medicines, especially quinine and whiskey, were 
often smuggled by the women, for the lives .of the Southern sol- 
diers often depended on these two articles. Sometimes medi- 
cines were sewed in the lining of their dresses. Spinning, weav- 
ing and knitting occupied the time of most Southern women, 
preparaing boxes of clothing, medicine, provisions to be sent 
with words of cheer. During this time another son was bom 
to them and death claimed their twin boys, one only a few hours 
after the other. My mother's delicate health and nature almost 
succumbed to this terrible shock, which required more forti- 
tude than any one can ever understand, being separated from 
parents and husband, with raiders appearing at any moment. 
Kind friends and dear hands constructed a nice walnut coffin, 
covered it with velvet, a luxury at that time, and the little 
ones were consigned to mother earth, clasped in the arms of 
one another, as they entered this world. My father surrendered 
at Gainesville, Ala., and as the railroad wires were torn up by 
Yanks, came home on a hand car with others who took turn 
about, walking to push, often mending the broken railroad to 
continue their journey. His negroes were free, he was without 
a dollar, disheartened, almost heartbroken over the sad fall of 
the brave South, but like the hero he was, he took his small 
son and tried to farm. His negroes, however, soon decided he 
was the best master to be found, and nearly all returned to work 
for him, and helped him to regain his fortune. Both parents 
still live in the old home at Sardis, Miss., and would be glad 
to hear from any old friend or comrade in those squally times. 
They live to recount the incidents of the war. and many, many 
hours have I sat at my father's knee, listening and never tiring 
of listening to the brave deeds, narrow escapes, trying times, 
hardships, such as sleeping on two rails in a fence corner, and 
thought the rails a great luxury. The stories of the thirst and 
hunger so often suffered by him and his comrades was to me 
simply terrible. At that time money was scarce and worth lit- 
tle. Calico was a dollar a yard. Spool thread a dollar. Shoes 
ten dollars to seventy-five dollars. Flannel that first wrapped 
my husband cost seventy-five dollars a yard. His first shoes 



The Williamson Family of Alabama 153 

cost one hundred dollars — quite a big sum for baby shoes. 

But those trying times are past, may they never return. 
When Christianity burns in every heart as it should, wars, 
tumults and strife of all kinds will end. 



A PLUCKY WOMAN OF MAINE. 

When the Confederate cruiser Sheaiandoah, captured the 
bark Delphine from Bangor, it vfas so rough tliat the skipper's 
wife had to be hoisted aboard the cruiser. She was a pretty 
woman and observed that had she been in command the vessel 
vTOuld not have hove to. Her gallant captors expressed the 
opinion that it was no empty boast. They believed she would 
have escaped with the vessel. 



J. S. E. Beck, who scouted with the famous Belle Boyd 
has left this description of her: "She was brave, she was also 
modest and well-behaved;- but she was not pretty at all. She 
was about 5 feet 7 inches, high cheek bones, narrow face, black 
hair, hazel eyes, a good looking nose, but a close thin lipped 
mouth. Her form was angular. She was not fair, fat and forty, 
but she was dark, thin and thirty." 



SKETCH OF MRS. LAURA C. DOSWELL, 
OF NEWPORT. 

Bij Mrs. C. H. Wilmans, of Newport. 

Mrs. Laura C, Doswell, of Newport, Ark., is one of the tnie 
type of loyal Southern women. She came to Arkansas from 
"Virginia, to make her home out here with her brother. Colonel 
Franklin Doswell, many years ago. Mrs. Doswell's experi- 
ences as a young girl, during the war between the States, are 
lyery interesting and quite worthy of place in the historical 
pamphlet, but her extreme modesty prevents our securing a very 
extensive account of the subject. 

One interesting experience of Mrs. Doswell is told most 
entertainingly by her, in about these words, "Yes, I remember so 
clearly the sad day on which the battle of Manassas was fought. 
Sunday. July 31. I was at Old Fork church that day. As soon 
as possible, several from our neighborhood, myself among the 
number, went to Culpepper Court House, to assist in caring 
for the dead and dying men there. We took with us many dain- 
ties, medicines, and all sorts of supplies. A hospital had been- 
temporarily established at a large private residence. I was 
stationed in the linen room there, where I remained for many 
weeks assisting in getting ready the clothes, bed linens, band- 
ages, etc.. for the wounded and dying. The lady in charge of 
this department was Mrs. Dade, the widow of Major Dade, kill- 
ed in the Seminole war in Florida. ! child, there are so many 
painful recollections ! But my service was so little and my ex- 
periences like those of so many others." And thus it is we fail 
to get lengthy articles from these brave and modest women. 
When we read between the lines we can not fail to see the suffer- 
ing and sacrifices, the sacredness of sorrow that neither tliey 
nor we can put into words. 

Mrs. Doswell sends a contribution of money, saying that 
she desires "to assist in building the monument to those noble 
women who so deserve it." She does not seem to realize the 
fact, but nevertheless she is truly one of "those noble women.*' 



CRUELTIES OF 13TH KANSAS CAVALRY. 

By Mrs. Jeffers, of Ozark. 

My husband, Daniel Jefferg, was three years in the Con- 
federate army. He left me with two small children on a farm 
near MnlbeiTv. The place was some distance from a neia^h- 
bor^s house and many a time I gazed in silence on the sleep- 
ing forms of my babes and wondered how long I should be 
obliged to live that lonely life and how long T should dread 
to hear a gun go off, as it made me think of my husband on the 
battlefield far away, indeed, but so easily recalled. 

BREAKS A YOUNG HORSE. 

There was no income from the farm 'and no way to get 
anything from it except I worked it myself. T plowed in the 
field day after day. I broke a young horse to th" plow that a 
fifteen-year-old boy had failed to make work. The hardships 
endured in these long years can only b > understood by women 
who M'ent through similar experiences. Now -aad tlien, as 
strength began to fail me, kind neighbors would lend a hand 
and my husband's little brother and my own would help me oyer 
the worst work. 

CRUELTIES OF BUSHWHACKERS. 

The retreat of Gen. T. C. Hindman after the battle of Prai- 
rie Grove left our section full of marauders of all kinds, chiefly 
Federal soldiers and busliwhackers. Small bands of these inhu- 
man wretches came to our homes and tortured old men and 
ivomen by applying burning wood and hot coals to the soles of 
feheir feet until they told where money and other valuables were 
hidden. Many times when there was nothing hidden away and 
lit others when some old man or woman wouUl not tell where 
treasure was secreted, many cruelties were practiced. In a 
neighbor's house these villains poured hot coals down a lady's 



156 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

hack because she was unwilling oi' unable to satisfy their de- 
mands. The mental horrors 'and apprehensions which such 
outrages created in every woman's mind that heard of them were 
among our most dreaded trials in those times. 

FEDERAL SCOUTS EAT LAST MORSEL. 

Many a time these raiders would dash up to my house, 
(warch under the beds and in every closet and place where I 
f,ried to hide bread and meat for myself and little ones, and 
then compel me with oaths and indecent language to prepare a 
liavish meal out of my very scanty food. I thought in those 
days that I could never bring myself to look upon a Federal sol- 
dier with anything but disgust and hatred, as the cruelties of 
rhe Thirteenth Kansas, who wore that blue, were villainous. 

HUSBAND REPORTED KILLED. 

My husband got a brief furlough one time and made his 
ivay home. A scouting party of the Thirteenth Kansas rushed 
ripon my house and told me that they had killed him in the 
«voods near by. The horrors of those hours will never be for- 
gotten. About 9 o'clock that night I heard the sound of my 
husband's voice in the chimney corner outside, asking me to 
bring him something to eat. He was afraid to enter the house, 
tis the scouts were camped a half mile away 'and some might be 
ivatching. Some time previously I had hidden a little corn, 
ivheat and meat on a bluff, but the scouting thieves found my 
store, but before they could take it all away 1 nmnaged a day or 
two before the last raid to bring some of it home. The Thir- 
l.eenth Kansas now came and took everything except a small 
piece of meat. After their departure I picked up a peck of 
'Torn from the floor, which they had spilled and tramped over. 

RODE 40 MILES TO VISIT HUSBAND. 

Through one of those circumstances that frequently befell 
the Southern soldier and family within the enemy's lines, 
my husband was captured. From a reliable source I learned 
that he was in the guard house at Van Buren, 40 miles 'away. 
I saddled my poor old pony, and, placing my babe in my lap, 
started on the journey, as I could not rest after hearing the 



Crueltiks of 13th Kansas Cavalry 157 

news. Those who have traveled in that part of the country- 
know how many streams there are to cross and they were all 
swollen at that time. Big Mulberry and Little Mulberry were 
very high. I was very tired and worn when I reached Van 
Buren, but went direct to the headquarters of the colonel com- 
manding the post. No sooner did I mention my business to 
this officer than he used ungentlemanly and abusive language 
and turned his back upon me. He did not seem to have a spark 
of human sympathy in his breast. With my tired body and 
blighted hopes 1 went away with streaming eyes, having no one 
to call on for comfort except "Him who doeth all things well." 
After many rebuffs and on a promise to leave for home on the 
morrow, I got permission to spend the night with my husband 
in the gaiard house. Xext morning I was compelled to start on 
my homeward journey, not having accomplished anything, 
heart heavy and sick in soul and body. 1 thought that I would 
never see my husband again in this world. But our heavenly 
Father does more for us than we should expect. The very next 
night my husband escaped from prison and reached home before 
me and baby. 



A MEMORIAL INCIDENT. 

"Marse Tom,'' said an aged darkey, yesterday, "don't you 
'member me?" 

"Never saw you before to my knowledge." 

"W'y, don't you 'member we'n de Yankees — " 

"I tell you I never saw you before !" 

The old man seemed, for a moment, lost in thought, then, 
as he shambled off, ho muttered: 

"It's been a gineration sence de surrender, en dat man ain't 
SOBEE yit !"— Atlanta Constitution. 



HEROISM OF MRS. N. J. MORTON STAPLES, OF 
PRAIRIE GROVE. 

Bij Mrs. D. H. Torhett. 

Our Chapter is honored by numbering among its mem- 
bers several women who lived in this, Washington county, Ar- 
ikansas, during the war between the states, and no one suffered 
more than they. For the most part they were women who 
stayed at home and cared for their families as, best they could, 
fed, sewed for and aided the soldiers. 

One of these grand old women was Mrs. N". J. Morton Sta- 
ples. Her home was on the dividing line between the armies of 
the North and South when the battle of Prairie Grove was 
fought. During the battle the family took refuge in the cellar 
of their home. I mention incidentally that my father, Dr. Joel 
H. Blake, was surgeon in this battle and has told me that the 
women were a very great help to them in caring for the sol- 
diers. After the l)attle, about sundown the women of this home 
went out on the battlefield among the wounded and dead. They 
carried in the wounded of both sides until their two rooms and 
porch were filled with men torn by shot and shell. All night 
they worked to relieve the sufferings of those who wore the blue 
as well as their own beloved grey. They tore up sheets and pil- 
low slips for bandages, made hot, nourishing drinks of herbs, 
and gave freely of their scanty store. Two soldiers died that 
night, one in a blue uniform of the rank of captain. The other 
in a homespun suit of grey. The next morning those who were 
still living were taken to the old Presbyterian church and cared 
for until they were able to go away. 

WOMEN DIGGING A GRAVE WITH A BROKEN HOE. 

This same Mrs. Staples together with a younger woman, 
with only boards and a broken hoe to dig with, dug a grave and 
buried a relative, a man too old and infirm to be in the army. 
The Federal scouts had burned his home and shot him. These 
brave girls worked till their hands were blistered and bleeding. 



Heroism of N". J. Morton Staples 159 

They covered the grave with rocks and to this day one may pass 
the lonely mound, two miles east of Prairie Grove. Near by 
in a pasture is a broken elevation covered with grass, a large 
rock here and there and a lonely cedar tree. These bespeak a 
once happy home destroyed by the cruel hand of war. But now 
over all the place, the cattle browse, the birds sing, the flowers 
bloom, and all is peace. 



PERSIMMONS TO DRAW STOMACH UP. 

As General "Alleghaney" Johnston was marehing to Bristoe 
station in the fall of 1863, he preceived one of his men up a tree 
and called out to him : 

"I say, there, what are you doing there?" 

"I am getting persimmons, general," replied the soldier. 

"Persimmons, thunder! they are not ripe yet, they are not 
fit to eat." 

"Yes, general, I know they are green, but I am trying to 
draw my stomach up to suit the size of my trousers : If it stays 
as it is now I shall starve. 



A HUSBAND HANGED FOR HIS MONEY. 

Bij Mrs. 0. M. Mashhurn, of Saline County. 

I am now 78 years old. I was born in Georo^a, but moved 
to Arkansas in 1856. My husband's home at the opening of the 
Civil war was in Saline county. Our little children and my 
brother, Tom Ball, made our home a happy one. My husband 
and brother soon joined the Confederate army and went through 
the war in safety. 

COMING OF THE FEDERALS. 

When the Federals came to Little Rock scouting parties 
raided Saline county. The havoc and destruction cannot well 
be described. At that time we had plenty of stock, horses, cows, 
sheep and hogs. They took everything, even cutting the cloth 
from the looms, taking bed quilts and all clothing, except what 
the family was wearing at the time. Bread and water were our 
diet for many long stretches of time. They set tire to the house 
and cursed us for putting it out. It was a dreadful time. 

HUSBAND HANGED BY FEDERALS. 

My husband came home on furlough just after the Federals 
had begun their raids. On one occasion my husband was not 
watchful enough and they caught him. In some way they had 
heard that he had money hidden in the house. They hung him 
with his own bridle reins, leaving him half dead. 

HORRORS OF THE BATTLEFIELD. 

The only battlefield that I ever visited was Hunters Cross, 
on Hurricane creek. The wounded, dying and dead were all lying 
in heaps here and there. The moans of the wounded and the 
groans of the dying remained many long years in my memory. 



DIFFICULTIES OF LIFE OF CONFEDERATE 
WOMEN. 

By Mrs. W. D. Wasson, of Springtown. 

My father and brother joined the Confederate army and my 
mother was left with a large family of small children, the oldest 
boy being only 13 years old. Father left us plenty to live on, but 
Federal soldiers came and destroyed everything. The hogs and 
cattle were killed, the corn taken and the fowls seized. 

Federal soldiers were stationed at all the grist mills and 
no Southern woman was allowed entrance. Every country store 
outside of Fayetteville was burned to the gi-ound and in Fayette- 
ville a Southern woman could not buy or trade at the stores for 
either love or money (both of which they were short of.) 

MAKING SALT FROM SMOKE HOUSE CLAY. 

We dug up the dirt where the smoke houses were burned and 
put it in hoppers as is done in soap-making and the water was 
boiled down until there was a residue of salt. We burned an 
oval place in the tops of hard stumps and beat com and wheat 
whenever they could be got. We bought by subscription a 
small handmill about the size of a sausage grinder and the 
neighboring women "came to mill" whenever they had anything. 
While one woman was grinding her corn, several would be on 
guard in trees and in outhouses watching for the Federals. We 
thought that the bread made from this meal was the best that 
we had ever eaten. We had splendid appetites ; in fact, that was 
about all that we did have at times. 

WOMEN BURIED TWO CONFEDERATES. 

Mrs. J. B. Stokes of Elm Springs, Ark., and Mrs. J. H. 
Wasson, now of Westville, I. T., went 20 miles in an ox cart and 
brought to their family burying ground the bodies of two Con- 
federate soldiers that had been killed and partly burned. They 
dug the grave themselves, as there was no man on the place, and 
buried the dead as well as they could. The houses of these 



162 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

women had been burned to the ground and they were not allowed 
to take anything out of them. 

Two brave women, one a soldier's wife, the other a young 
lady, walked 200 miles or more to Texas, carrying a small child 
and all their other worldly goods on their backs. 



JOHNNY REB CAPTURED. 

It was toward the end of the terrible struggle between the 
States. A weary and dusty Confederate sat cooling his tired 
feet in a stram, while, with a rusty needle and coarse thread he 
was endeavoring to mend his ragged coat. Suddenly a mounted 
Federal dashed into view, and riding rapidly toward the Con- 
federate, he shouted: "Hi, there, Johnny Reb, I've got you 
this time.' 

Without looking up from his mending the half-starved, 
ragged and dirty fellow replied : 

"Yes, and a h — 1 of a git you got." 



One of the opposing pickets on the Rappahannock agreed 
not to fire. A brisk conversation began between a Texan and 
an Irishman on the Federal side. 

"What are you doing in the Federal army? What are you 
fighting for anyway?" said the Texan. 

"I'm fiting for thirteen dollars a month. I believe ye're 
fitin' for eleven," replied the son of Erin. 



One of the most remai'kahle personalties of the Confederacy 
was Secretary Judah B. Benjamin, who, at the collapse of th^ 
Government went to England, where as a barrister he rose to 
the top of his profession. 



SOMEBODY'S DARLING. 

From Underwoods ^Yomen of the Confederacy. 

Into a ward of the whitewashed halls 

Wliere the dead and dying lay; 
Wounded by bayonets, shells and balls, 

Somebody's darling was borne one day. 
Somebody's darling, so young and so brave, 

Wearing yet on his sweet, pale face, 
Soon to be laid in the dust of the grave. 

The lingering light of liis boyhood's grace. 

Matted and damp are the curls of gold. 

Kissing the snow of that fair 3'oung brow; 
Pale are the lips of delicate mould, 

Somebody's darling is dying now. 
Back from his beautiful blue-veined brow. 

Brush the wandering waves of gold; 
Cross his hands on his bosom now — 

Somebody's darling is still and cold. 

Kiss him once, for somebody's sake, 

Murmur a prayer, soft and low. 
One bright curl from its fair mates take. 

They were somebody's pride, you know. 
Somebody's hand hath rested there, 
Was it a mothers, soft and white; 
Or have the lips of a sister fair 

Been baptized in their waves of light? 
God knows best. He has somebody's love. 

Somebody's heart enshrined him there; 
Somebody wafted his name above, 

Night and morn, on the wings of prayer. 
Somebody wept when he marched away. 

Looking so handsome, brave and grand. 
Somebody's kiss on his forehead lay, 

Somebody clung to his parting hand. 



164 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

Somebody's waiting, and watching for him, 

Yearning to hold him again to her heart, 
And there he lies — with his blue eyes dim, 

And his smiling, child-like lips apart. 
Tenderly bury the fair young dead, 

Pausing to drop o'er his grave a tear; 
Carve on the wooden slab at his head, 

"Somebody's darling is lying here." 



THE REBEL YELL. 

The old Eebel yell that used to nerve Johnnie Reb and 
frighten the life out of the Yanks, sounds something like the 
old steamboat whistle, one long, two short and one long cries. 
The yell was always begun at a low pitch, gradually rising to 
higher ones and getting lost in the heavens above if the charge 
was long continued. Another characteristic, and perhaps the one 
that contained the milk in the cocoanut, was that it should be a 
yelp, starting low and increasing with every bound as it bursted 
from several thousand throats of eager soldiers charging up hill 
or down hollow, made the verj' earth tremble and shook the cour- 
age out of Yankee hearts. Our Southern colleges should pre- 
serve this historic yell, which will be music to the ears of the 
old Rebs and their descendants. 



SHERMAN'S RAID. 

By Mrs. Ma/rgaret E. Rush, of Union County. 

My home is now in Union county, Ark. I was a small child 
in Anson county, N. C, during the war, where my mother, whose 
name was Elizabeth Myers, was born and raised. My father 
having died before the war, I had four sisters and one brother, 
who was forced to go to the war at the age of 17. He died six 
weeks later. If mother was living, she could tell better than I 
can of the hardships and troubles of that cruel war — how hard 
it was to give up her only son and have to provide for a family 
of girls alone, and of the raid of Sherman's army, who destroyed 
the stock of provisions, house and furnitnre, and left the people 
to suffer the consequences with the few negroes. 

I was small, but well do I remember seeing the Yankees 
riding the roads, with their horses loaded with meat, chickens, 
blankets and everything that they could carry. They burned 
the mills and gins. I saw Mr. Lockhart's gin burn. It was full 
of wheat and cotton. I can't tell half what we suffered from 
the effects of the war. I was raised without a man on the place, 
and had to do all kinds of work. I married a man here by the 
name of Rush. His father died in the war; his mother was left 
with her first-bom to raise alone. 



ANDERSONVILLE VINDICATED. 

Btj Chas. Coffin^ of Waltmt Ridge. 

There is one thing concerning the conduct of the war tliat 
Northern people liave held against xis, and that is the treatment 
of Northern prisoners in Southem prisons. They have always 
held it as a blot on our record. 

But we know the truth, and I thinlc it is time they 
knew it. We know tliat the Northern soldiers in Soutliem 
prisons had the same rations in kind and quantity tliat guards 
over him had, and that the soldiers in the field had, with this 
difference: They were kept together in large numbers in a lim- 
ited area, necessarily so, in a climate they were not assimilated 
to, and on a diet they were not accustomed to. Add to this 
then the fact that they were prisoners without hope, condemned 
to imprisonment during the war by their own government — for 
it was not the Confederates authorities who stopped the exchange 
of prisoners of war. The great military triumvirate of the 
North, Staunton, Grant, and Sherman were responsible for that. 
Everybody knows what Sherman said war was. Sherman said 
"War was hell !" and Staunton and Grant were wise enough to 
know that the Confederacy was playing with a limit — that they 
had only so many men out of whom it was possible to make 
soldiers, and if they could succeed in capturing and holding 
them it was only a question of time when the war must end; add 
to this the fact that the prisoners at Andersonville had among 
them an epidemic for which the doctors had no antidote, nos- 
tralgia — home-sickness — the direst of all diseases, for it has its 
origin in that "hope deferred"' that makes the heart sick even 
unto death. Under these conditions, of course they sickened 
and died. 

But I submit if in the good year of our Jjord, 189S, at a time 
wlicn our doctors have become intimateely familiar with bacilli 
and bacteria, the i^enns of disease and death; when the science 



Andersonville Vindicated 167 

of surgery has reached a higher degree of skill and excellence 
than was ever before known; if under these conditions the 
United States, with all the resources, financial and material at 
her coniinand, has been unable to keep disease and death away 
from Chickamauga, how in Heavens name 1 ask you, could 
the impoverished Confederacy have been expccti^d to keep them 
away from Andersonville in 1864 ! In the light of the history 
of Chickamauga in 1898. Andersonville in 1864, stands abso- 
lutely vindicated. 



A NORTHERN WAR NURSE. 

The most famous Sister of Charity who went out with the 
Northern Army was probably Sister Anthony of Cincinnati, who 
accompanied the hospital corps of the army of General Rose- 
crantz. She was a fine business woman, a tender nurse, and 
the possessor of that mysterious power which is called personal 
magnetism. After the close of the war, so great and general 
was her reputation, that two" gentlemen of Cincinnati, not of 
her faith, presented her with the magnificent Samaritan Hospi- 
tal of that city, as a mark of their high appreciation of her 
character. The only draw-back she ever felt was from her looks. 
She was as homely as the Lord ever made a woman. On one 
occasion when caring for the sick and wounded in the hospital, 
she went to a meat market in Cincinnati, to buy a few chickens. 
She complained about the high price. The dealer made some 
rough remark, to which she paid no attention. Then he used 
more rough language, and as she persisted, money being scarce, 
he said finally, "Oh take them along for anything. You arc so 
d — d ugly 1 cannot talk to you any more. If you were good lodk- 
ins; I would talk an hour." 



SOUTHERN CROSS OF HONOR. 

From the Official Circular of U. D. C. 

The idea of the Southern Cross of Honor to be given by the 
United Daughters of the Confederacy to the veterans and des- 
cendants of deceased Confederate soldiers and sailors originated 
with Mrs. Mary Ann Cobb Erwin, Athens, Ga. 

The design offered by Mrs. S. E. Grabbett, Atlanta, Ga., 
Chairman of the committee appointed by Mrs. Katie Cabell Cur- 
rie, President U. D. C, at Hot Springs, Ark., November, 1898, 
to procure designs, was accepted at Richmond, Va., November, 
1899. The members of the committee were Mrs. S. E. Gab- 
bett. Chairman, Atlanta, Qa. ; Mrs. C. Helen Plane, Atlanta, 
Ga.; Mrs. Mary Ann Cobb Erwin. Athens, Ga. Upon the res- 
ignation of Mrs. Erwin, Miss Mildred Lewis Rutherford, 
Athens, Ga, was appointed in her place. 

The rules formulated by this committee were found insuJSi- 
cient to meet the many questions that arose regarding the be- 
stowal of the Cross, so at the request of Mrs. Gabbett, who had 
been appointed Custodian of the Cross at Richmond, 1899, 
Mrs. Edwin G. Weed, President of U. D. C, enlarged the com- 
mittee at Montgomery, Ala.. November, 1900. 

The members of this committee are Mrs. Cornelia Branch 
Stone, Galveston, Texas, Chairman; Mrs. Virginia Faulkner, 
McSherry, West Va. ; Mrs. J. W. Lench, Florida; Mrs. J. W. 
Thompson, Florida; Mrs. Beede, California; Mrs. Poe, Mary- 
land; Mrs. L. H. Raines, of Georgia. 



RULES FOR BESTOWAL OF CROSS OF HONOR. 

Rule I. 

Section 1. Each State and Territorial Division shall 
elect, or appoint a Recorder of Cross of Honor, to whom Chap- 
ters shall apply for blank certificates of eligibility, to be filled 



Southern Cross of Honor 169 

out by the veterans, and blank forms for alphabetical lists, to 
be filled out with data from the certificates, by the President 
of the Chapter ordering crosses. When so filled out these shall 
be sent to the Recorder of said Division, for approval, or cor- 
rection, and forwarded by her to the Custodian of the Cross, 
who will forward the Crosses to the Chapter. 

The Recorder shall apply to the Recording Secretary Gen- 
eral, U. D. C, for the blank forms of certificates, and blank 
forms of alphabetical lists, supplying these, on demand, to 
the Chapters, accompanied by an order to the Custodian, signed 
by the President General and Recording Secretary General, 

U. D. C. 

Sec. 2. The oldest living lineal descendant of Veterans, 
who have not received a Cross, may secure it in any county, pro- 
vided, that three consecutive monthly notices be inserted in the 
city and county papers, calling upon Veterans to send in certifi- 
cates for crosses. If at the expiration of three months, there 
are no other applications from veterans, the bestowal of Cross- 
es upon such descendants, may begin ; the same to be governed by 
rules for bestowal upon Veterans. Where there is no lineal des- 
cendant desiring the Cross, it may be bestowed upon the widow of 
veteran, who has not received a Cross, proAaded she be a Confed- 
erate woman, who has endured the hardships and privations of 
the period from "sixty-one to sixty-five." No descendant or widow 
can receive a second Cross, nor can such descendant or widow 
wear the cross. The Recording Secretary General will supply 
to the Recorder of Cross of Honor of each State and Territor- 
ial Division special blank forms of certificates, for descendants 
and widows, which must be filled out with data of eligibility of 
ancestor or husband. 

Rule II. 

Section 1. No Crosses will be furnished by the Custo- 
dian unless the order is accompanied by certificates of eligibil- 
ity, properly filled out, by the Veterans, and certified to, by 
two, or more, members of a Camp of United Confederate Vet- 
erans, and alphabetical list, from Chapter President. 

Sec. 2. Presidents of Chapters shall fill out blank alpha- 



170 Confederate Womex of Arkansas 

betical lists from the certificates witli all data contained therein 
to forward with certificates to their State Recorder of Cross 
of Honor, with money order, for the number of Crosses desired. 

The Custodian of the Cross of Honor shall keep a book, 
or books, in which, shall be kept, alphabetically arranged, the 
namei> and data of all Yeterans, descendants of Veterans, and 
widows to whom Crosses have been issued. 

Sec. 3. The certificates shall be i-etumed by the Custo- 
dian to the Presidents of Chapters wh^ have ordered Crosses, 
and the same be placed on file, by said Clvapter, that data may 
be furnished when needed for historical, or other purpose. 

Sec. 4. Each Chapter shall keep a book, alphabetically ar- 
ranged, in which, is recorded the name and service of every Vet- 
eran, and ancestor of descendant, and widow, of a veteran, who 
receives a Cross. Each State or Territorial Recorder shall keep 
a similar record book of all Crosses issued. 

Rule III. 
Section 1. Crosses may be granted by the muster roll of 
'the nearest Camp, U. C. V., and to Confederate Veterans who 
are not members of a Camp, who can give the required proof of 
eligibility, attested by two A^eterans who are membei-s of a 
Camp. 

Sec. 2. The oldest living lineal descendant may secure 
the Cross, by giving the same proof of eligibility as that required 
of his Veteran ancestor — and Confederate widows of Veterans, 
apphdng for Cross, must fill blank form of certificate, giving 
service of Veteran, whose widow she is — such widows must have 
endured the hardships of the war period from 1861 to 1865: 

Sec. 3. Upon the certificate of a reputable physician that 
a Veteran is dying, if desired, he may receive the Cross imme- 
diately. 

Rule IV. 
Section 1. The Crosses may be bestowed on the Memorial 
or Decoration Day. selected by each State or Territorial Divis- 
ion, U. D. C. ; the birthdays of President Jefferson Davis and 
General Robert E. L^e — June 3rd and Jaimarv 19th; and one 



Southern Cross of Homor 171 

comTnemorative day, between July 1st and January 19th, to be 
selected by each State or Territorial Division, in convention as- 
sembled. The presentation shall be 'accompanied with such cere- 
monies as will give proper dignity to the occasion, 

EULE V. 

Section 1. A Veteran, in good standing, ha\iing lost his 
Cross, may have it replaced once, only, by applying to the Presi- 
dent of the Chapter from wliich he received the Cross, and he 
must furnish copy of the certificate on which the Cross was first 
bestowed. If a second Cross is lost, a certificate may be given, 
in testimony that such Veteran has been awarded a Cross. No 
descendant, or \Wdow, of a Veteran, can have a second Cross. 

Sec. 2. Chapter Presidents are urged to advise Veterans 
to have their names engraved on the bar of Cross, for the pur- 
pose of identification, if lost. 

Sec. 3. A Veteran having been awarded a Cross, and dy- 
ing before it is received, the President of the Chapter bestow- 
ing it may give it to the oldest living lineal descendant, or widow, 
uader provisions of Eule 1, Sec. 2. A Veteran having received 
the Cross, may bequeath it to any lineal. descendant that he may 
select, 

Eule VI. 

The Cross cannot be worn, in any case, or on any occasion, 
except by the Veteran upon whom it was bestowed — no descen- 
dant or widow can wear it. 

Eule VIII. 

Section 1. ^\^lere counties have no local organization of 
U. D. C, a Veteran may receive the Cross through the President 
of the nearest local Chapter, or the President of Chapter in the 
county from which he entered the Confederate Service, if so 
desired. 

Sec. 2. When Chapters are not able to bear the expense 
of purchasing Crosses for other counties than thir own, these 
may be furnished at the expense of the General Association, 
upon the authority of the President General, U. D. C. 



172 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

Rule VII. 

All orders for Crosses shall be filed in the Custodian's of- 
fice three weeks before the day intended for bestowal. 

Rule IX. 

Any Chapter departing from these rules will not be en- 
titled to Crosses for presentation. 

Preceding the presentation of the Crosses, Rules V.. VI., 
VII., VIII., and IX., shall be read, on every occasion of the 
bestowal. 

The President of each Chapter shall see that the Camps of 
Confederate Veterans and Sons of Confederate Veterans in her 
county shall receive a copy of these rules for continual refer- 
ence. 



HISTORY OF CONFEDERATE UNIFORM AND 

FLAG. 

Designs From Wliioh They Were Adopted Were Made by Ni- 
cola Marschall, a Prussian Artist, Who for More than 
Thirty Years Has Lived in Louisville — He Prepared the 
Drawings at the Request of Mrs. Napoleon Lockett in Mar- 
ion, Ala., Where He Resided Then. 

Located in Louisville, in a well-known business building, is 
a time-stained yet time-honored room. Its walls are darkened 
witli the finger marks of the passing years, and the whole de- 
meanor of the place is unobtrusive and unpretentious. Yet is 
this place rich in its treasnred traditions of the Old South or 
the southland of ante-bellum days. 

It is the art studio of Nicola Marschall, musician, portrait 
painter and designer of both uniform and flag of the Confeder- 
ate States of America. From his Prussian homeland, where 
he was made skilfull musically and trained to the painter's art, 
this man, then in his youth, came over land and sea to America 
at one of the most rugged and picturesque periods of this coun- 
try's history, the memorable gold-fever days of '49. It was in 



History of Confederate Uniform and Flag 173 

Alabama that he found the home for which he sought. With 
no other compensation than the pride it caused him to serve 
the South, and the pleasure it gave him to honor a woman's re- 
quest, these designs were made by ISTicola Marschall in 1861, 
• and adopted by the Southern Confederacy. 

Mr. Marschall's studio is in the building on the southwest 
corner of Green and Fourth streets. It is a veritable curiosity 
shop, a place wealtliy in historic recollections, its souvenirs of 
bygone days and the works of ths artist. There are many por- 
traits about the place, portraits that show upon canvas the 
mental pictures still dear to the people of the South. Portraits 
of Kobt. E. Lee, Joseph E. Johnston, J. C. Breckenridge, Wil- 
liam Preston and Genl. Bragg are among those in his studio. 
These are but a few of the Confederate leaders whose portraits he 
has painted. Among the best pictures he has ever painted were two 
of Gen. N". B. Forrest, the "Wizard of the Saddle," who was 
the personal friend of Mr. Marschall. 

There is probably no souvenir among those Mr. Marschall 
has more interesting than a letter introdcing him to President 
Jefferson Davis, written b}^ Gen. N. B. Forrest. The letter 
was written in 1872 when General Forrest was president of the 
old Selma, Marion & Memphis Eailroad. General Forrest lived 
in Marion, Ala., then, at which place Mr. Marschall made nis 
home, and it was when the latter contemplated going to Mem- 
phis where President Davis was then, that the letter was written. 
It was reproduced in fac-simile made from the original, se- 
cured for the purpose through the courtesy of Mr. Marschall. 

The story of how Mr. Marschall came to design the uniform 
and flag of the Confederacy is best told in his own words. 

"I came to this country," he began, "when I was eighteen 
years of age. My home was in St. Wendel. Prussia, and I left 
there that I might continue professionally with music and art, 
instead of having to serve in the army. I left with, the permis- 
sion of my Government, something more easily obtained then 
than now. I landed in New Orleans and from there made my 
way to Mobile, where lived a relative of mine, who had preceded 
me here. I met him on the eve of his departure for California. 
It was in 1849 that I landed in America, Avhen the tide of hu- 



17-i Confederate Women of Arkansas 

inanity was flowing toward the gold fields of the Pacific coast. 

„''^Iy kinsman tried to persuade nie to join his mining party 
and go to California in search of wealth. But I was then 
as far away from home as I oared to be, and so declined to 
go. 1 became acquainted with one of the teachers in the female 
seminary at Marion, Ala., and learneji that it was one of the 
garden spots of the South. Wealthy planters lived there; it 
was a seat of learning -and claimed as citizens many of the old- 
est and most aristocratic Southern families. I decided to go 
to Marion, and go I did. I became a teacher at the seminary 
there, where I taught painting, violin, piano, guitar and the 
French and German languages. 

"My studies in Europe of drawing and painting now served 
me well. I came over here on an old sailing vessel, and well 
do I remember to this day how 1' had to draw the picture of every 
member of the crew from captain to humblest sailor. I had 
been in this country one year when my brother arrived here from 
Prussia. 

"In 1857 I returned to Prussia and remained in Prussia 
for tAv^o years continuing my studies of art. I studied both in 
Mnnich and Italy. It was while returning from Italy and pass- 
ing through Verona, which then belonged to Austria., that I 
saw the uniform which some years later was to foirnish me the 
design for the Southern Confederate uniform. 

"In Vemoa one day the notes of martial music came to 
me. On seaxcliing out I found that a party of sharpshooters 
belonging to the Austrian army were passing. 

"What splendid soldiers and what noble uniforms." was 
my involuntary comment as I saw them. Well might this be said. 
They were all great manh^ soldiers and were dressed in the strik- 
ing uniform of gray with green trimmings. The green denoted 
their branch of the army — the sharpshooters — 'and their rank 
was indicated by marks on the collars' of their coats, bars for 
Lieutenants and Captains, stars for the higher officers. 

"I returned to America in 1859 and again located in Mar- 
ion. There I painted many portraits of the wealthy planters 
and members of their families, as well as of other prominent 
people of the South. Andrew Moore was then a judge at Mar- 



History of Confederate Uniform and Flag 175 

ion. He afterwards became War Governor of Alabama, and was 
one of the most important men in those days in our part of the 
country. 

"Mrs. Napoleon Ijockett, a beautiful Southern woman of 
an old Virginia family and the wife of a wealthy planter, lived 
at Marion. Her eldest son married the eldest daughter of Gov- 
ernor Moore and one of her younger sons married one of the 
younger daughters of Governor Moore. 

"Soon came the first notes of war. Mrs. Lockett was as loy- 
al a daughter as the South had, and was much interested in its 
affairs then. She came to me one day and said : "Mr. Marschall, 
we have seceded, and the Confederate Government wants a flag. 
Will you make us a design ? It must not be too unlike the Uni- 
ted States flag, but difl:erent enough to be distinguished at a 
distance.' 

"At once I took pencil and paper, and made three different 
designs. The first was of two red stripes and one of white, 
with a blue field bearing seven white stars — indicating the num- 
ber of states that had then seceded — in the upper left-hand cor- 
ner. The second design was the same, except that the blue field 
with stars was at the extreme left of the white stripe, instead 
of the top red stripe. The third design had the two full red 
stripes at top and bottom, the white stripe in the middle with 
the blue field and white stars in the center." 

It is a matter of historioal fact that this first design, made 
by Mr. Marschall was the flag adopted by the Confederate Gov- 
ernment. It is also well known to those familiar with Siouthern 
history that this flag — the Stars and Bars — was placed on the 
staff above the eapitol at Montgomery, Alabama, on March 4, 
1861, by Miss J. C. Tyler, of Virginia. She was a grand- 
daughter of John Tyler, ex-President of the United States. 

Continuing his interesting narrative, Mr. Marschall said: 
"Mrs. Lockett thanked me for the flag designs. Then she came 
back, adding: 'We also want a design for a uniform, Mr. Mars- 
chall. Can't you suggest one?' The thought occurred to me of 
the gray uniforms I had seen worn by the Austrian sharpshoot- 
ers. I took a piece of paper and made several rough sketches, in- 
dicating the gray color, and also the colors on the collars to de- 



176 CONFEDEKATE WOMEN" OF ARKANSAS 

note the branch of the service — buff for officers, yellow for cav- 
alry, blue for infantry, red for artillery, etc. 

"It did not occur to me then that I had done anything 
worthy of note. I simply made the sketches at the request of 
Mrs. Lockett. I knew no more about them from then, until I 
found that the uniform and one of the flags had been adopted 
by the Confederacy." 

This is the story of how the gray of the Confederate 
army and the banner under which that army fought, were made 
— a story told by the one who conceived the plans. Not boast- 
fully but with a measure of pride does Mr. Marsohall, when 
sought out. tell the story. He considers that he had done little 
in making the designs, but he is to this day proud that his were 
the ideas adopted for both the uniform and the flag of the 
South. 

When war was declared Mr. Marschall enlisted as a private 
of volunteers, going with his command from Marion to garrison 
Forts Morgan and Gaines at the mouth of Mobile Bay. There 
he served for a time then returned to Marion on a furlough. 
While at home, on the advice of a friend, an officer, he employed 
a substitute for a year and three months. Then came the call 
for more volunteers, and again Mr. Marschall enlisted, this time 
in the second Alabama regiment of engineers. He served with 
Colonel Lockett, a son of Mrs. Napoleon Lockett under G-eneral 
Polk, Just preceding the fall of Vicksburg. Mr. Marschall 
seirved then in the Confederate army until the curtain was fin- 
ally drawn at Appomattox. 

Mr. Marschall numbered among his close friends Maj. 
Jabez Currie, one of Alabama's wealthiest planters, and an un- 
cle of Dr. J. L. M. Currie. It was at the suggestion of Major 
Currie, who had friends in Kentuclcy, that Mr. Marschall came 
to Louisville to live. He returned to his art after the war, and 
many are the treasured portraits in halls and homes of the 
South today that stand as the product of his brush. Louisville 
became the home of his adoption in 1873. On arri^dng here he 



History of Confederate Uniform and Flag 177 

located in the studio he occupies today, never in all that time 
having made a change. 

Marion, Ala,, Nov. 11, 1872. 
Mr. Jefferson Davis, Memphis, Tenn., 

Dear Sir : — This letter will introduce to you my friend, Mr. 
Nicola Marschall, of this city, who visits Memphis for the pur- 
pose of examining our city with a view of locating. He is a 
true Southerner, was with us in our troubles, and is one of the 
fimst artists we have. I hope he may be pleased with our city. 
-tViy favors shown him will be duly appreciated by him and 
thankfully received by your friend, etc., 

N. B. FORREST. 



FLAGS OF THE CONFEDERACY OFFICIALLY 
DESCRIBED. 

Owing to incorrect representations in historical works, incor- 
rect reproductions and representations by manufactures of flags 
and badges, and in pictorial publications of all kinds; to fre- 
quent inquiries in the press and the erroneous answers thereto, 
and to general lack of exact inform'ation regarding the flags 
of the Confederate States of America, the United Confederate 
Veterans some years ago deemed it necessary to appoint a. com- 
mittee empowered to make a diligent investigation and report 
their finding to that body, says the New York Herald. In June, 
1894, this committee made a report of its labors, and the United 
Confederate Veterans, that M^ere then assembled at Nashville, 
passed a resolution as follows : 

"That in order to give the impress of authority for the 
guidance of all persons it is hereby declared to be the conclusive 
judgment of this organization that the flags of the Confederate 
States of America were established by legislation of the Congress 
of the Confederate States and otherwise in the manner fully 
set forth in the accompanying report of the committee on flags 
of this organization, and that said report is hereby adopted." 

A pamphlet very attractively prepared and with the pic- 
tures of the flags in colors has recently been issued. The title 



XII 



178 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

page contains the battle flag and bears these words : "The flags 
of the Confederate States of Amerioa^by authority of the Uni- 
ted Confederate Veterans." 

The flag committee was composed of Samuel Ei. Lewis. M. 
D., of Washington, D. C, chairman ; Fred L. Robertson of Tal- 
lahassee, Fla. ; J. F. Shipp, Chattanooga, Tenn. ; J. Taylor Elly- 
son, Eehmond, Va., and A. C. Trippe of Baltimore, Md. The 
committee's full report as approved in 1904, Stephen D. Lee, 
general commanding, and William E. Mickle, adjutant-general 
and chief of staff, is given in abridged form in the pamphlet, 
and describes the various flags as follows : • 

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION OF FLAGS. 

"The Stars and Bars — The flag recommended by the ^com- 
mittee on a proper flag for the Cbnfederate States of America,' 
appointed by the Provisional Congress, in its report of March 
4. 1861, is as follows : "That the flag of tlie Confederate States 
of America shall consist of a red field, with a white space extend- 
ing horizontally through the center and equal in width to one- 
third the width of the flag; the red spaces above and below to 
be of the same width as the white; the union blue extending 
down through the white space and stopping at the 
lower red space. In the center of the union a circle of 
white stars, corresponding in number with the states 
in the Confederacy.' The union is square ; the stars five- 
pointed ; the leugth of the flag is one and a half times the width. 

"The Battle Flag — The battle flag is square, having a 
Greek cross ( Salter) of blue, edged with white, with thirteen 
equal white five-pointed stars, upon a red field, the whole bor- 
dered with white. There are three sizes: Infantry, 48 inches 
square; artillery, 36 inches square; cavalry, 30 inches square. 
The proportions for an infantry flag are : 48 inches by 48 inches 
(exclusive of the border) ; the blue anns of the cross, 1 1-2 
inches wide; the white edging to the cross, 1-2 inch wide; the 
white border aroimd the flag proper, 1 1-2 inches wide. Total 
outside measurement, 51 inches. The stars are five-pointed, in- 
scribed wdthin a circle of 6 inches diameter, and are of uniform 
size. There should be five eyelet holes in the hoist, next the 



Flags the Confederacy Officially Described 179 

pole. The axtillery and cavalry flags are correspondingly re- 
duced in all proportions. 

"-The National Flag, established May 1. 1863, is as fol- 
lows: 'The Congress of the Confederate States of America do 
enact, That the flag of the Confederate States shall be as fol- 
lows: The field to be white, the length double the width of the 
flag, with the union (now need as the battle flag) to be a square 
of two-thirds the width of the flag, having the ground red; 
thereon a broad salter of ]>lue, bordered with wliite, and emblaz- 
oned with white mullets or five-pointed stars, corresjx>nding in 
number to that of the Confederate States.' 

"The National Flag, established March 4, 1865, is a.s fol- 
lows: 'The Congress of the Confederate States of America do 
enact. That the flag of the Confederate States shall be as fol- 
lows: The width two-thirds of its length, with the union (now 
used as the battle flag) to be in width three-fifths of the width 
of the flag, and so proportioned as to leave the length of the 
field on the side of the union twice the width of the field be- 
low it; to have the ground red and a broad, blue Salter thereon, 
bordered with white and emblazoned with. mullets or five-pointed 
Btars, coiTesponding in number to that of the Confederate 
Sitates; the field to be white, except the outer half from the 
union to be a red bar extending the width of the flag.' 

FLOWN BY confederate NAVY. 

"The Stars and Bars (previously described) — The new en- 
sign, pennant, and jack, by order of the secretary of the navy, 
May 26, 1863, is as folloM's: 'The new ensign will be made 
according to the following directions, viz. : The field to be white, 
the length one and a. half times the wddth of the flag, with the 
union (now used as the battle flag) to be square, of two-thirds 
of the width of the flag, having the ground red, thereon a broad 
Salter of blue, to the union as 1. 4 4-5, Iwrdered with white, to 
the union as 1.22, and emblazoned with white mullets, or five- 
pointed stars diameter of stars to union as 1.6 2-5, correspond- 
ing in number to that of the Confederate States.' 

"The Pennant — A white gi"ound. its size to be as 1.72, or 
its length seventy-two times its width at the head, and tapering 



180 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

to a point. The union of the pennant to be as follows : All red 
from the head for three times its width, with white border equal 
to twelve times its -width, to be emblazoned with stars, in numr 
ber equal to those in the ensign, with a white border equal 
to half the width, and then red three times the width, with the 
fly all white. 

"The Jack — ^To be the same as the union for the ensign, 
except that its length shall be one 'and a half times it width." 



THE WOMEN OF THE CONFEDERACY, GOD 
BLESS THEM. 

By General C. Irvine Walker. 

How glorious were the achievements of our Confederate 
women and how gladly we should unite in erecting to their mem- 
ory the beautiful series of monuments the committee has plan- 
ned. First, we will select the grandest, most inspiring design 
that is offered, and then throughout the Southland, we Avill 
raise on high in each State, this beautiful emblem of the devo- 
tion and patriotism of our Confederate women, attesting for 
all time to come the love and admiration of those who "knew 
them but to love them." These monuments will teach patriotism 
and devotion to generations yet unborn, and will create in the 
hearts of all who see them a desire to emulate the splendid 
virtues of those in whose honor they were created. As Judge 
Anthony M. Keiley once eloquently said : "It was not the his- 
tory of the heroes, but their statues in the Ceramicus that 
would not allow the young son of Philip to sleep." 

Veterans, how strongly this movement must appeal to 
you ! When in 1861, the South rose in her might and 
declared that she Avould defend, by force of arms, the liber- 
ties that belonged to her people, the Southern woman brushed 
away her tears, and sent you forth to battle for the right; 
when wounded and torn she bore you from the bloody 
field; it was her hand that soothed the burning pains, 
and her voice that cheered you back to health again, and 
when home she brought her first-born son, a hero martyred 



The Women of the Confederacy: God Bless Them 181 

upon the altar of the fatherland, she stifled her sobs in her bos- 
om, and with her blessing a younger son left for the front to 
close the widening breach in that fatal firing line. When at 
last, crushed by overwhelming numbers and worn out by long 
years of fierce fighting against tremendous odds, you laid down 
the arms with which you had wrought for yourselves crowns of 
undying fame, "When the stars upon your banner had gone 
back to the heavens from which they came ;'' when you returned 
broken-hearted at your cause's fall, to find your homes laid 
desolate by the ruthless hand of long continued war; when you 
were called upon to face the horrors of those dark days of the 
reconsti'uction, she was by your side, and by precept and by 
example, she taught you to be as noble in defeat as you had been 
gTand in battle. Eeared in the lap of luxury, accustomed to 
every comfort that wealth could bring, she accepted poverty for 
your sake without a murmur. Hiding in the sacred recesses of 
her heart the grief she felt for dear ones lost and a cause forever 
dead, she set hereelf to the task of bringing back the smile to 
your face and happiness to your heart, until inspired by her ex- 
ample, you have brushed away all obstacles, and have made this 
fair Southland of ours to bloom and blossom like the rose. 

Sons of Confederate veterans, how plain your duty is ! You 
are the sons of those noble women, and you are the sons of the 
men, engaged in a righteous cause, whose hands they sought 
to uphold. You have as a precious heritage the proud knowl- 
edge that your father was a Confederate soldier, and that your 
mother was a Confederate woman, and you and your children 
and children's children should rise up and call their memory 
blessed. It has been said of the United Sons of Confederate 
veterans that tliey are "banded together for the purpose of sooth- 
ing the declining years of those who bore, unflinchingly, the 
burden of that tremendous struggle, and of handing down to 
future generations the true story of a great lost cause." How 
better can we tell the story than in imperishable marble and 
bronze? The Southland is dotted with monuments Southern 
women have erected to Confederate valor; every cemetery where 
the heroes sleep is beautiful by their tender care; every page 
of our history is made sacred by the devotion with which thev 



182 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

consecrated their loyalty, but hardly a single visible mark stands 
today to give evidence of the appreciation of their countrymen. 
Now, it is proposed to declare to the people of the world the 
Sonth's unbounded 'admiration for our Confederate mothers. 

Without the fierce passions of the conflict to sustain her, 
with no hope of fame or glory as the reward of great deeds nob- 
ly done ; but prompted only by patriotism and a deep devotion 
to her country's cause, she suffered in silence more than tongue 
can tell, and accomplished as much as to entitle her to be 
held as the dearest of all our memories. Let's build these monu- 
ments grand, inspiring and beautiful; let's have every line of 
them breathe tenderness and devotion; let's erect them out 
among the trees amid the grass and the flowers in our most 
beautiful public places. Let every Southern heart be glad be- 
cause we are about to do this honor to the Southern women of 
war times; let the hand of every Southerner reach forth gener- 
ously to make his willing contribution to this fund. 



CONFEDERATE GENERALS, LIEUT.-GENERALS, 
AND MAJOR GENERALS. 

By Rev. I. William Jones. 

The death of General Longstreet and of General Gordon 
has caused some confused statements about the generals and 
lieutenant-generals of the Confederacy, and it may be well to 
give the full list in the order of their rank. 

The full generals were : 

1. Samuel Cooper, 

2. Albert Sydney Johnston. 

3. Robert Edward Lee. 

4. Joseph E. Johnston. 

5. Gustave T. Beauregard. 

6. Braxton Bragg. 

General Provisional Arm}^, E. Kirby Smith. 
General with temporary rank, J. B. Hood. 



Confederate Gens., Lieut.-Gens., and Major Gens. 183 
LIEUTENANT-GENERALS. 

1. James Longstreet. 

2. E. Kirby Smith. 

3. Leonidas Polk. 

4. Theophilus H. Holmes. 

5. William J. Hardee. 

6. Thomas J. Jackson. 

7. John C. Pemberton. 

8. Richard S. Ewell. 

9. Ambrose Power Hill. 

10. Daniel H. Hill. 

11. John B. Hood. » 

12. Richard Taylor. 

13. Stephen D. Lee. 

14. Jubal A. Early. 

15. Richard H. Anderson. 

16. Alexander P. Stewart. 

17. Nathan Bedford Forrest. 

18. Wade Hampton. 

19. Simon B. Buckner. 

20. Joseph Wheeler. 

General John B. Gordon was appointed lieutenant-general 
by President Davis Just after his brilliant capture of Fort Sted- 
man. but his commission did not reach him before the emcua- 
tion, and although he commanded a corps for some time, and on 
the retreat was put by General Lee in command of one vnng of 
the army, he always wrote "major-general" as his real rank. 
The same practically was true of General Fitzhugh Lee, who 
commanded the cavalry corps after General Hampton was sent 
South. 

The "full generals"' have all long since crossed the river, 
and of the lieutenant-generals, only General S. D. Lee. General 
S. B. Buckner and General A. P. Stewart remain. 

And, alps! the major-generals, the brigadiers, the other 
officers of the "field and staff," and the rank and file of the Con- 
federate armies are stepping out of ranks so rapidly that soon 
there will be none left to answer the roll call down here. 



184 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

In addition to the above, seventy-seven Confederate soldiers 
attained the rank of major-general whose names alphabetically 
arranged are: 

Henry W. Allen, William W. Allen, Jr., Patton Anderson, 
William B. Bate, John S, Bowen, John C. Breckinridge. John C. 
Brown, Matthew C. Butler, Benjamin F, Cheatham, Henry D. 
Clayton, Thomas J. Churchill, Pat E. Cleburne, George B. Crit- 
tenden, Daniel S. Donelson, Arnold Elzey, James F. Fagan, 
Charles W. Field, John B. Floyd, John H. Forney, Samuel G. 
French, Franklin Gardner, Martin W. Gary, Jeremy F. Gilmer, 
M. W. Gray, Bryan Grimes, Harry T. Hays, Henry Heth, Thom- 
as C. Hindman, Robert F. Hoke, Benjamin Huger, William Y. 
C. Himies, Bushrod R. Johnson, Edward Johnson, David E. 
Jones, Samuel Jones, James L. Kemper, Joseph B. Kershaw, 
Evander M, Law, Fitzhugh Lee, George W. C. Lee, William H. 
F. Lee, Lunsford L. Lomax, William W. Loring, Mansfield 
Lovell, John T. Magruder, William Mahone, John S. Marma- 
duke, William T. Martin, Dabney H, Maury, Samuel B. Maxey, 
John P. McCown, Lafayette McLaws, Mosby M. Parsons, John 
Pegram, William D, Pender, William M. Pendleton, George M. 
Pickett, Camille J. Polignac. Thomas L, Rosser, Gustavus W. 
Smith, Martin L. Smith, William Smith, Carter L. Stevenson, 
J. E. B. Stewart, William B. Taliaferro, Isaac R. Trimble, 
David E. Twiggs, Earl Van Dorn, John G. Walker, William T. 
Walker, William H. C. Whiting, Cadmus M. Wilcox and Am- 
brose R. Wright. 



THE BISHOPS IN THE WAR. 

Well do we remember the departure of Bishop Polk from 
Richmond to seek the advice of Bishop Meade, then the senior 
of the House of Bishops, at his home in Northern Virginia. 

"And what did he tell you?" we said. 

"I saluted him," said the good bishop, "and said to him: 
'Sir, I have been offered a commission in the Confederate army, 
and have come to ask your advice.' His reply was: 



The Bishops in the War 185 

''Sir, you hold already a higher commission than that in 
the church militant." 

"I am aware of that, right reverend sir ; and I do not intend 
to resign it, but hope to hold it in the church triumphant." 

"Well, the senior bishop did not give his consent then?" 

"Yes, he did," said Bishop Polk, with a twinkle in his eye 
and a confident manner that was peculiarly his own. "Yes, he 
did; I quoted scripture to him, and we talked the matter all 
over thoroughly, and he finally told me if I felt it my duty to 
accept, I had his full consent, 'and so say all the rest of my 
brethren." 

Most of these bishops were not chaplains, but fighting men. 
Being soldiers of the cross seemed to have stimulated them for 
the real fray. Bishop T, U. Dudley of Kentucky and Bishop R. 
W. B. Elliott of Texas were immediately associated in the ser- 
vice, and the latter was severely wounded. Bishop Greorge W. 
Petererkin of West Virginia was paroled at Appomattox, hav- 
ing been first Lieutenant and aid to Grcn. W. N. Pendleton of 
Lexington, Virginia, an eminent Episcopal divine. 

Bishop Samuel S. Harris of Michigan was a gallant soldier 
from Alabama, and Leonidas Polk of Louisiana, mentioned 
above, was a lieutenant general when killed at Pine Mount near 
Marietta, Georgia. Reverend Dr. Martin Parks of North Caro- 
lina resigned from the old army in 1828 to become a clergyman. 
He was elected to a bishopric in Alabama, but declined. 

Our own two beloved bishops in Florida were "soldiers of 
war." Rt. Rev. Edwin C. Weed having been a cavalry soldier in 
a Georgia regiment, and Rt. Rev. William Crane Grey having 
served as chaplain in a Tennessee regiment. And thus 

"The sons of God go forth to war, 
A kingly crown to gain." 

N"ot« — To the above may be added Bishop Ellison Capers 
of South Carolina, who was a brigadier general in the Confeder- 
ate army. 



186 Letter From Confederate Women to the Soldiers 

LETTER FROM CONFEDERATE WOMEN TO THE 

SOLDIERS. 

The following is an open letter from Confederate womien to 
the soldiers in the field, published during the war: 

"Soldiei's: — The president, congress, the public press and 
your generals have told you the high esteem of your noble de- 
votion in re-enlisting for the war. We also, as your mothers, 
wives, daughters, sisters and friends, claim the right to thank 
you. It is the grandest act of the revolution and secures immor- 
tality to all concerned in it. It awakens anew the enthusiasm 
with which we began this struggle for liberty, and removes all 
doubt of its eventual success. Such men in such a cause can- 
not be overcome. In the dreariness of camp life you may have 
sometimes imagined yourselves forgotten or little cared for. 
Counting up your privations and dangers you may have doubted 
their full appreciation, and fancied that those M^ho stay at home 
and risk nothing, while you suffer and bleed, are more esteemed 
than yourselves. 

"We beseech you harbor no such thought. You are con- 
stantly present to our minds. The women of the South bestow 
all the respect and affection upon the heroes who defend them 
against a barbarous and cruel foe. In the resolution to aid you, 
they are as firm and determined as you in yours, not to lay down 
your arms until independence be won. When that sacred vow 
shall have been 'accomplished your reception by us will more 
than attest our sincerity. It shall be shown while the contest 
goes on, by our efforts to increase your comforts in the field 
and to lighten the burdens of the dear ones left at home. For 
your stricken country's sake and ours be true to yourselves and 
our glorious cause. JSTever turn your back on the flag, nor de- 
sert the ranks of honor or the post of danger. Men guilty of 
such infamy sell your blood and our honor, and give up the 
Confederacy to its wicked invaders. In after years from genera- 
tion to generation the black title of tory and deserter wall cling 
to them, disgracing their children's children. But no stigma 
like this will stain you and yours. Brave, patriotic and self- 
sacrificing in time of war, you will be honored in peace as the 



Letter Froi^i Confederate Women to the Soldiers 187 

saviours of your country, and the pride and glory of your coun- 
trywomen. We beg to keep near your hearts our memorials of 
affection 'and respect, and to remember them especially in bat- 
tle, and we invoke for you always the protection of a kind and 
merciful Providence." 



ORIGINAL VERSION OF DIXIE. 

Following are the original words of Dixie: 
I wish I was in de land ob cotton, 
Cinnamon seed and sandy bottom ; 

Look away, look away, away. 

Dixie land. 
In Dixie land where I was born in 
Early on one frosty momin,' 

Look away, look away, away. 

CHORUS. 

Den I Avish 1 was in Dixie, 
Hooray ! Hooray ! 
In Dixie land I'll take my stand, 

To lib an' die in Dixie, 
Away, away, away down south in Dixie. 

Old Missus marry Will de Weaher, 
William was a gay deceiber; 
WQien he put his arms around 'er, 
He looked as fierce as a forty-pounder 

Chorus : Hooray ! Hooray ! etc. 

His face was sharp like a butcher's cleaber. 
But dat did not seem to greab 'er ; 
Will run away, Missus took a de cline, ! 
Her face was de color oh bacon shine, ! 

Chorus: Hooray! Hooray! etc. 



188 CONEEDERATE WOMEN OF ARKANSAS 

While Missus libbed, she libbed in clober; 
When she died, she died all ober, 
How could she act such foolish part, ! 
An' marr}' a man to break her heart, ! 

Chorus : Hooray ! Hooray ! etc. 

Buckwheat cakes an' stony batter, 
Makes you fat or a little fatter ; 
Here's a health to de next old Missus, 
And all de gals dat want to kiss us. 

Chorus : Hooray ! Hooray ! etc. 

Now if you want to drive away sorrow, 
Come an' hear dis song tomorrow, 
Den hot it down an' scratch de grabble, 
To Dixie's land I'm bound to trabble. 

Chorus : Hooray ! Hooray ! etc. 



GENERAL GRANT SWORN TO SECRECY BY A 
LITTLE GIRL. 

An interesting story in which a little girl and General Grant 
played the conspicuous parts was told by one of the Confederate 
veterans that was at the reunion in Nashville during the cen- 
tennial year. 

He was one of the younger sellers that went out to fight for 
his country. Being dangerously wounded, he was taken home on 
parole. Soon after his return, General Grant appeared upon the 
scene and took up headquarters in the old southern mansion. 

The family becoming alarmed for the safety of the boy, he 
was with much difficulty hidden under the house, the interven- 
ing space between the ground and the floor being very narrow. 
Even then their fears were not lessened, for to their anxious ears 
every groan Ijeneath was fearfully audible. So an elder sister, 



Gen. Grant Swoen to Secrecy by a Little Girl 189 

to relieve the situation^, sat at the piano and played and sang all 
through the day. The intense strain of the passing hours grow- 
ing monotonous to the child of the household, she decided to take 
affairs into her own hands without any consultation. 

As General Grant sat in his room late in the afternoon 
there came a soft tap at his door. In answer to his invitation 
to enter there appeared a demure little maiden with a. mass of 
tangled curls and cheeks of the reddest hue. She walked gravely 
up before him, and looking him in the face, said: 
"I've got something to tell you." 
"You have? I shall be very glad to hear it." 
"Well, before I tell you, you've got to promise that you'll 
never, never tell. Do you declare and cross your heart and wish 
you may die in a minute if you ever, ever tell ?" 

The general preserved his dignity and answered, "Yes." 
"Well, then do it." and he repeated the words after her and 
made the movement as she directed. Then there came a whis- 
per: 

"My big brother is sick under the house; he's out thei-e 
with the bugs and rats, and they're going to eat him up." 

As a result of the disclosure the master of the house, meet- 
ing the general in the hallway somewhat later, was startled by 
this speech being addressed to him : 

The dignified figure of the father assumed even greater 
dignity. 

"I hear you have a wounded son under the house." 

"What is that to you ?" 

"Simply this: if he is in need of medical attention, he 
should have it and be placed in comfortable quarters for re- 
ceiving it." 

Had the little girl's voice not been raised for the big broth- 
er, it is uncertain whether he would ever have been able to greet 
his comrades at a reunion, but the part she played in the drama 
was never known until years later, when she summoned cour- 
age to tell the family. 

Wliether the general ever betrayed his trust has not been 
revealed. 



190 Army Order of General Lee at Chambersburg, Pa. 

ARMY ORDER OF GENERAL LEE AT 
CHAMBERSBURG, PA. 

The following was issued by General Lee at Chambersburg, 
Pa.: 
Headquarters. Army of Northern Virginia, Chambersbiirg, Pa., 

27th June, 1863. General Orders No. 73. 

The Commanding General has observed with marked satis- 
faction the conduct of the troops on the march and confidently 
anticipates results commensurate with the high spirit they have 
manifested. 

No troops could have displayed better fortitude, or better 
perfonned the arduous marches of the past ten days. 

Their conduct in other respects has. with few exceptions, 
been in keeping with their character as soldiers and entitles 
them to approbation and praise. 

There have, however, been instances of forgetfulness on the 
part of some, that they have in keeping the yet unsullied repu- 
tation of this army, and that the duties exacted of us by civili- 
zation and Christianity are not less obligator}' in the country of 
the enemy than in our own. 

The Commanding General considers that no greater dis- 
grace could befall the army, and through it our whole people 
than the perpetration of the barbarous outrages upon the un- 
armed and defenceless, and the wanton destruction of private 
property, that have marked the course of the enemy in our coun- 
try. 

Such proceedings not only degrade the perpetrators and 
all connected with them, but are subversive of the discipline 
and efficiency of the army, and destructive of the ends of our 
present movement. 

It must be remembered that we make war only upon armed 
men, and that we cannot take vengeance for the wrongs that 
our people have suffered without lowering ourselves in the eyes 
of all those whose abhorrence has been excited by the atrocities 
of our enemies, and offending against Him to whom vengence 
belongeth. without whose favor, and support our efforts must 
all prove in vain. 



Army Order of Gen. Lee at Chambersburg, Pa. 191 

The Commanding G-eneral, therefore, earnestly exliorts the 
troops to abstain with most scrupulous care from unnecessary 
or wanton injury to private property, and he enjoins upon all 
officers to arrest and bring to summary punishment all who 
shall in any way offend against the orders on tliis subject. 

R. E. LEE, General. 



THE MOTHER OF SEVEN SOLDIERS. 

Mrs. Butler's Response When Introduced as the Sister of Com- 
modore Perry. 
Charlotte Observer. 

Mrs. Butler, the mother of Senator Butler, was a resident 
of Greenville, S. C. She was quite an interesting character. 
She reared a large family, and Avhen the war broke out her sons 
promptly responded to their country's call for volunteers. 

As Greenville was but a sm-all town, and there was but one 
train a day, it was customaiy ' for a crowd to assemble at the 
depot ever};- evening to hear the news from the scene of battle, 
some gentleman usually reading the paper aloud to the others. 
And as regularly as the evening came, Mrs. Butler might be 
seen on her way to the station, sitting in her little carriage, or 
"carry-all," as it was called, driving an old horse which had 
evidently seen better days. She would take her position, close 
to the platform, near the reader, 'and raising her eartrumpet, 
listen attentively, showing her approval or disapproval as the 
case might be, by a nod or an emphatic remark. 

The following story is told of her: Wlien a division of 
Sherman's 'army came through Greenville, their headquarters 
were on Boyce's lawn, but a short distance from ]\Irs. Butler's 
home. Some of the more lawless members of the army scoured 
the country, pillaging and taking possession of anything on 
which they could lay their hands. They visited the stable and 
carried off Mrs. Butler's only horse. Early the following morn- 
ing she presented herself at headquarters and asked to see the 
Federal commander. Dr. B , a Southern srentleman who 



192 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

was present thinking if the general knew her social position, 
he would feel more inclined to grant her request, introduced her 
as the "sister of Commodore Perry, our distinguished naval 
officer/' But the patriotic old lady remarked with a good deal 
of spirit, "I did not come here as the sister of Commodore 
Perry, but as the mother of seven sons in the Confederate army, 
and I want my old gray horse." 

It is needless to say that the Federal officer, admiring her 
independence, promptly restored the animal to its owner. 

MISS JULIA EOBEETS, Charlotte, N. C. 



THE HOMESPUN DRESS. 

This ballad w^as written by Miss Carrie Belle Sinclair in 
the midsummer of 1862. 

There was a rivalry with the Augusta girls as to who should 
have the neatest homespun dress, and from this incident she 
took the idea and wrote that old war song. 

The poem was first published in an Augusta paper and was 
copied in the Savannah Morning News. 

"The Homespun Dress" was sung to the popular air of 
"The Bonnie Blue Flag," by a member of the "Queen Sisters," 
an English family, then holding the boards of the theatre, and 
this, with other songs written by her, soon won for their author 
the name, "Songbird of the South." 

THE homespun DRESS. 

Oh yes, I am a Southern girl. 

And glory in the name. 
And boast it with far greater pride 

Than glittering wealth or fame. 
I envy not the Northern girl 

Her robes of beauty rare, 
Though diamonds grace her snoAv^ neck 

And pearls bedeck her hair. 

Chorus — 



The Homespln Dress 193 

Hurrah I Hurrah! 

For the Sunny South so dear ! 
Three cheers for the Homespun Dress, 

Onr Southern ladies wear ! 

My homespun dress is plain, I know, 

My hat's palmetto, too; 
But then it shows what Southern girls 

For Southern rights will do. 
We scorn to wear a hit of silk, 

A bit of Northern lace, 
Bnt make our homespun dresses up, 

And wear them with snch grace. 

Chorus — 

Now Northern goods are out of date; 

And since old Abe^s blockade, 
We Southern girls can be content 

With goods that's Southern ma/le, 
We sent the brave from ont our land 

To battle with the foe. 
And we will lend a helping hand — 

We love the South yon know 

Chorus^ — 

Our land it is a glorious land, 

And OTirs a glorious cause; 
Then three cheers for the homespun dress. 

And for the Sonthem boys; 
We sent our sweethearts to the war. 

But, dear girls, never mind. 
The soldier never will forget — 

The girl he left behind. 

Chorus — 



194 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

A soldier is the lad for me. 

A brave heart I adore — 
And when the Sunny South is free, 

And fighting is no more, 
I then will choose a lover brave 

From out that glorious band, 
The soldier bo}' that I love best 

Shall have my heart and hand. 

Chorus — 

And now, young men, a word to you. 

If you win the fair, 
Go to the field where honor calls, 

And win your ladies there; 
Remember that our brightest smiles 

Are for the tnie and brave, 
And that our tears are for the one 

That fills a soldier's grave. 

Chorus' — 

— From an Old War Scrapbook. 



POEM, TO THE WOMEN OF THE CONFEDERACY. 

Raise the shaft, 'tis for our mothers. 

Set its base with colors fair; 
Furl the faded, starry banner 

Round its staff, and leave it there. 

Lift it where the earliest sunbeam 

Drives the memory's mist away. 
Leave it where the fading twilight 

Lingers longest with the day. 



Poem to the Women of the Confederacy 195 

Twine the myrtle with the ivy. 

And the fragrant scented vine; 
Bring the white magnolia blossoms 

And the crimson columbine. 

North and East and South and Westward, 

From its columns pure and white, 
Write upon the peerless marble, 

On its polished tablets, write — 

How they toiled and prayed and suffered 

Through the long and bitter years, 
Kept the altar fires burning. 

With the increase of their tears ; 

How their love, in streams of bl&ssing, 

Wore its channels deep and wide, 
Bore the fortunes of the battle, 

On its broad and surging tide; 

How their faith, that trusted ever, 

Rested on the soldier's shield. 
Watched above the bloody carnage. 

And upon the tented field. 

How the summer bloomed and faded. 

Yet did Love and Trust abide. 
But their hopes, like shattered roses. 

With the autumn glory died. 

Then from out the burning embers, 

Love and hope and faith and trust 
Soared above the desolation, 

Shook their plumage of its dust; 

Returning, brought the sprig of olive. 

Saw the bow of promise spanned, 
And the dawTi of peace and plenty 

O'er a broad and smiling land.-^ 



196 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

But the lieart knows no forgetting, 

And within her silent halls. 
Where the fragrant incense rises 

And the inner sunlight falls. 

Hang the swords and rusty scabbard. 

With the coats of faded Gray 
And perfumed with myrrh and alloes, 

All the flags are laid away. 

And besides the faded banners, 

And the urns of storied dust, 
Memors^ stands within the portals. 

Keeping watch above her trust. 

KATE P. FLENNIKEX. 

WinnsboTo, N". C. 



LETTER OF MRS. JEFFERSON DAVIS TO J. L. 
UNDERWOOD. 

From Underwood's "Women of the Confederacy." 
Hotel Gerard, 123 West Forty-Fourth St., New York. 

October 25, 1905. 
My Dear Mr. Underwood: 

I do not know in all history a finer subject than the heroism 
of our Southern women, God bless them. I have never forgotten 
our dear Mrs. Robt. E. Lee, sitting in her arm chair, where she 
was chained by the most agonizing form of rheumatism, cutting 
with, her dear aching hands soldiers' gloves from waste pieces 
of their Confederate uniforms furnished to her from the gov- 
ernment shops. Tliese she persuaded her girl visitors to sew 
into gloves for the soldiers. Certainly these scraps were of im- 
mense use to all those who could get them, for I do not know 
how many children's jackets which kept the soldiers' children 
warm, I had pieced out of the scraps by -a poor woman who 
eat in the basement of the mansion and made them for them. 



LETTER or Mas. Jeeee..on Davis to J. L. Undeuwood 197 

The ladies picked their old sUk pieees !-*» *;^-^;^.^* 
sum them into gloves, stockings, and scarfs fo the soldiej 
Ss etc cut up their house linen and seraped it into lint 
tee up their sheete and rolled them into handag^; and toasted 
"potatoe slices brown, and made substitutes for coffie . 
Th" p'ut two tablespoonfuls of sorghum -1-- -f ^^^^ 
er boiled for coffee instead of sugar, and used none »««■■ ^or 
heir me Chi dren and families. They covered their od shoe 
w^ "d kid gloves or with pieces of silk and their little f^t 
lolldchai-ming and natty in them. In the county they made 
'^fown candles, and one lady sent me thr^ cakes of sweet 
i and a small jar of .ft soap made from *»« ^^i^; >-- 
nnd refuse bits of hams boiled for her family. Another sent 
m't^e most exquisite unbleached flax thread, of the smootiies^ 
Td finest quali?y, spun by herself. I have never been able to 
"t such thread again. I am still quite feeble, so I must close 
^th le hope thft your Health will steadily improve and the 

^^^ 4.v„<- T flin Yours sincerely, 

assurance that I am„ ^ jeffeRSON DAVIS. 

VIVID HISTORY OF OUR BATTLE FLAG. 

From the Confederate Veteran May 1900. 
Gen W L. Cabell, now of Dallas, Texas, who was chief 
quartermaster of the Confederate army in Virginia at the tim^e 
referred to, furnished the following to the \eteran May .o, 

When the Confederate army, commanded by Gen. Beaure- 
gard, at Manassas and the Federal army confronted each other, 
it was seen that the Confederate flag (stars and bars) and the 
stars and stripes at a distance looked so much alike that it was 
hard to distinguish one from the other. Gen. Beauregard, 
thinking that serious mistakes might be made m recognizing 
our troops, after the battle of July 18 at Blackburn Ford, or- 
dered that a small red badge should be worn on the left shoulder 
by our troops, and, 'as I was chief quartermaster, ordered me 
to purchase a large amount of red flannel and to distribute a 



198 CONFEDEEATE WoMEN OF ARKANSAS 

supply to each regiment. T did so, and a number of regiments 
placed badges on their left shoulder. 

During the battle of Bull Run it was discovered that a great 
number of Federal soldiers were wearing a similar red badge. 
I saw these badges on a numlxM- of prisoners we captured that 
day. 

Generals Johnston and Beauregard met at FairfauX Court- 
house in the latter part of August or early part of September, 
and determined to have a battle flag for every regiment or de- 
tached commiand that could easily be recognized and easily car- 
ried. I was telegraphed to go to tbem at once at Fairfax Court- 
house. Both Gen. Beauregard and Gen. Johnston were in 
Beauregard's office discussing the kind of flag tliat should be 
adopted. Gen. Johnston's design was in the shape of an ellipse, 
red flag with a blue St. Andrew^s cross, white stars on the cross 
to represent the difl'erent Southern States. No white border 
of any kiiul was attached to this cross. Gen. Beauregard's de- 
sign was a rectangle, red with blue St. Andrew^s cross and white 
stars similar to Gen. .Tohnston's. Both were thoroughly exam- 
ined by all of us. After we had fully discussed the two styles, 
taking into consideration the cost of nuiterial and the care of 
making the same, it was decided that the elliptical flag \\x)uld 
be harder to make, that it would take more cloth, and that it 
could not be seen as pfiiin at a distance as the rectangular flag 
drawn and suggested by Gen. Beauregard, so the latter was 
adopted. Gen. Johnston yielded promptly to the reasons given 
by Gen. Beauregard and myself. No one was present but us 
three. No one knew about this flag but us until an order was is- 
sued adopting the "Beauregard Flag," as it was called. He 
directed me, as chief quartermaster to have the flag made as 
soon as it could be done. 

T immediately issued an address to the good ladies of the 
South to give me their red and blue silk dresses, and to send them 
to Captain Collin ]\fcKae Selph, quartermaster at Richmond. 
Va., (Capta.in Selph lives in New Orleans today), where he was 
assisted by two elegant young ladies — the two Misses Carey of 
Baltimore — Mrs. General Henningsen of Savannah, and Mrs. 
Judge Hopkins of Alabama. The Misses Carey made battle 



Vivid History of Our Battle Flag 199 

flags for Gens. Beauregard, Van Dorn, and (I think), J. E. 
Johnston. They made Gen. Beauregard's headquarter flag out 
of their own silk dresses. It is in Memorial Hall, New Orleans, 
with a statement of its history hy Gen. Beauregard. Gen. Van 
Dom's flag was made of heavier material, hut was very pretty. 
Captain Selph had a number of these flags made and sent to me 
at Manassas, and they were distributed by order of Gen. Beaure- 
gard. One flag I had made for the Washington Artillery, and 
thev have it yet. My wife who was in Kichmond, made a beau- 
tiful flag out of her OAvn silk dress and sent it to a cousin of hers 
who commanded an Arkansas regiment. This flag was lost at 
Elk Horn, but was recaptured by a Missouri Division under 
Gen. Henry Little. It being injpossible to get silk enough to 
make the great number of flags needed, I had a number made 
out of the blue and rod cotton cloth. I then issued a circular 
letter to the quartermaster of every regiment and brigade in 
the army to make the flags, and to use any blue and red cloth 
suitable that they could get. Gens. Beauregard and Johnston, 
being good draftsmen, drew their own designs. 

The statements going the rounds that this battle flag was 
first designed by a Federal prisoner is false. There is no truth 
in it. No living soul except Gens. Beauregard and Johnston 
and myself knew anything about this flag until the order was 
issued direct to me to have them, made as soon as it could be 
done. 



ORIGIN OF UNITED DAUGHTERS OF THE 
CONFEDERACY. 

From, the Confederate Veteran. November. 1900. 

At a regular meeting of Nashville Chapter No. 1, United 
Daughters of the Confederacy, held in the city of Nashville, 
Tenn.. on November 1, 1900, the following resolution was unani- 
mously adopted: 

Whereas, at the Kichmond Convention of the United 
Daughters of the Confederacy in November, 1900, Mrs. J. A. 
Rounsavllle, President of the Georgia Division, suggested that 



200 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

proof should be taken as to who originated the idea of uniting 
all the organizations of Southern women into one Federation, 
in order that it might be printed in the minutes of the Mont- 
gomery Convention ; and whereas, the Nashville Chapter No. 
1, United Daughters of Confederacy, have taken proof, and 
submit the follomng evidences, substantiating the fact that Mrs. 
M. C. Goodlett, of Nashville, Tenn., first originated the idea: 

On March 35, 1890. the ladies of Nashville organized and 
had chartered the Ladies' Auxiliary to the Confederate Sol- 
diers' Home, and Mrs. M. C. Goodlett was elected State Presi- 
dent thereof. 

On May 10, 1892, at a dinner given by the Ladies' Auxil- 
iary, on Summer street, in Nashville, on motion of Mrs. M. C. 
Goodlett, the name of the Ladies' Auxiliary was changed to 
Daughters of the Confederacy. 

In 1894, Mrs. Goodlett having conceived the idea of or- 
ganizing all associations of Southern women into one body, to 
be known as the Daughters of the Confederacy, in May of that 
year, at a meeting of the Nashville Chapter, the object was 
brought forward and published in the Nashville American. 
Shortly thereafter Mrs. Goodlett received a letter from Mrs. 
L. H. Eaines, of Savannah, Ga., indorsing the idea, and request- 
ing that a copy of the constitution, charter, and by-laws of the 
Nashville Chapter should be sent her for examination, and 
asking if Savannah women could be organized under the Nash- 
ville charter. 

Thereafter the Nashville Chapter issued a call, inviting 
all Southern women to meet with it on September 9th, 1894, 
in the rooms of Frank Cheatham Bivouac, for the organization 
of all Daughters of the Confederacy into one federation. The 
following ladies attended this meeting: Mesdames M. C. Good- . 
lett, John Overton, J. B. Lindsley, William Hume, Isabella 
Clark, George B. Guild, W. B. Maney, E. H. Dudley. Nathan- 
iel Gooch, W. J. McMurray, A. B. Snyder, John P. Hickman, 
Miss White May, and others, of Nashville; Mrs. L. H. Eaines, of 
Savannah; and Mrs. Myers of Texas. On that night Mrs. 
Eaines went home with Mrs. Goodlett, carrying with her the 
constitution of the United Confederate Veterans. On the next 



Origin of the United Daughters of Confederacy 201 

morning Mrs. Goodlett and Mrs. Kaines presented a draft of 
the new constitution of the new organization to be known as tlie 
National Daughters of the Confederacy, which, after being 
amended, was adopted, and the following officers were elected 
for the ensuing year: Mrs. M. C. Goodlett, Nashville, Presi- 
dent; Mrs. L. H. Eaines. Savannah, First Vice-President; Mrs. 
J. C. Myers, Texas, Second Vice-President; Miss White May, 
Nashville, Third Vice President ; Mrs. John P. Hickman, Nash- 
ville, Secretary; Mrs. J. N. Lindsley, Nashville, Treasurer. 

It was also determined at this meeting that the Nashville 
Chapter should be known as No. 1 , and the Savannah Chapter as 
No. 2. Several errors and inaccuracies being discovered in the 
constitution as adopted, another meeting was called to meet at 
the same place on March 30, 1905. This meeting was attended 
by all the ladies above mentioned, besides several others of the 
Nashville Chapter, and Mrs. A. T. Smythe, of Charleston, S. C. ; 
Mrs. William Parsley, of Wilmington, N. C. ; Mrs. Fleming 
DuBignon and Miss Lamar, of Savannah, Ga. ; and Mrs. R. A. 
Allison, of Jackson, Tenn. 

At this meeting the constitution was amended. Mrs. Katie 
Cabell Cnrrie was made Vice-President in the place of Mrs. 
Myers. Mrs. Smythe and Mrs. Parsley were made Vice-Presi- 
dents, and the Wilmington Chapter was made No. 3, the Char- 
leston Chapter No. 4, and the Jackson Cliapter No. 5. 

This proof has been gotten by records in the office of our 
Secretary of State, proof by the parties who were present at the 
meetings and from numerous letters from Mrs. L. H. Raines 
to Mrs. M. C. Goodlett, wliich are now in the possession of Mrs. 
Goodlett, and which have been exhibited to and read by the 
Chapter. 

If Mrs. Goodlett did not originate the idea, why was she 
made the first president, and why was the Nashville Chapter 
given the honor of being designated as No. 1 ? 

All proof taken, and all letters from Mrs. L. H. Raines, 
with all original papers, will be submitted to any committee 
the Convention may see proper to appoint, if it is not convinced 
by the statements herein set forth. Therefore, 

Resolved, by the Nashville Chapter No. 1, that this state- 



202 Confederate Women op Arkansas 

ment of facts shall be read at the Montgomery Convention of the 
United Daughters of the Confederacy, and printed in the pro- 
ceedings of the Convention and in the CONFEDERATE VET- 
EEAN. 

By order of the Nashville Chapter. 

MRS. LIZZIE OVERTON CRAIGHEAD, Pres. 

MISS MARTHA A. HILL, Secretary. 



ORIGIN OF UNITED SONS OF CONFEDERATE 
VETERANS. 

AN ACCOUNT OF THE ORGANIZATION, AIMS AND PURPOSES OF 
THIS ASSOCIATION. LIST OF OFFICERS, ETC. 

From the Confederate Veteran August 1896. 

The formation at Riclmiond the last week of June, 189(% of 
the Federation to be known as the United Sons of Confederate 
Veterans should receive the commendation and support of all 
true Southerners. Its aims, objects and purposes are not to 
create or foster, in any manner, any feeling against the North, 
but to hand down to posterity the "story of the glory of the men 
who wore the gray." 

Knowing that "in union there is strength,'' the sons of 
those who made the South famous have come together for the 
systematic and united work of preserving from oblivion the true 
history of the South. That tbis step meets with the hearty ap- 
proval of the "men who wore the gray" is shown by the following 
resolution, which was adopted at tlie Convention of the United 
Confederate Veterans at Richmond, at their regular session: 

"Resolved, That this session provide at once for the forma- 
tion of Sons of Confederate Veterans into a separate national 
organization. This is urgent from the manifold fact that our 
ranks are thinning daily, and our loved representatives should 
step in now and arrange to take charge of Southern history. 
our relics, mementos and monuments, and stimulate the erec- 
tion of other monuments to our heroes ere 'taps' are sounded for 
the last of their fathers." 



Origin of United Sons of Confederate Veterans 203 

But before this resolution was adopted the Sons had taken 
matters in their own hands, and on the evening of June 30th, 
1896, met at the Auditorium at Richmond, and arranged for the 
organization of a Federation themBelvies. At this meeting a com- 
mittee was appointed to draft a Constitution for the new Asso- 
ciation, but they were unable to prepare the same that evening, 
and the session adjourned at 11 o'clock to meet the next day. 

On July 1st the delegates from the Camp of Sons of Con- 
federate Veterans from the various Southern States, who had 
been called by the E. E. Lee Camp of Richmond, to assemble 
for the purpose of forming this Association, adopted a Constitu- 
tion, similar in every respect to the constitution, governing the 
United Confederate Veterans, and permanently organized the 
United Sons of Confederate Veterans. 

The preamble of this Constitution reads: "To encourage 
the presentation of history, perpetuate the hallowed memories 
of brave men. to assist in the observance of Memorial Day, to 
aid and support all Confederate Veterans, widows and orphans, 
and to perpetuate tlie record of the services of eveiT Southern 
Soldier, these are our common aims. These objects we believe 
will both promote a purer and better private life, and enhance 
our desire to maintain the national honor, union and indepen- 
dence of our common country." 

The organization of this Association is composed of depart- 
ments, divisions, brigades and camps. 

The Federation has an Executive Head and three Depart- 
ments, entitled Army of Xorthem Virginia Department, con- 
sisiting of the States of North and South Carolina, Maryland, 
Virginia and Kentucky. The Army of Tennessee Department, 
consisting of the States of Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Mis- 
sissippi, Ix)uisiana and Florida. The Trans-Mississippi Depart- 
ment, consisting of the States and Territories west of the Mis- 
sissippi excepting Louisiana. Each State constitutes a division 
and is commanded by a M'ajor General ; the Departments are 
commanded by a Lieutenant General. The States are further- 
more divided into brigades which also have their commanders. 
In this way the work is thoroughly systematized and is so' ar- 
ranged that the most excellent results can be readily obtained. 



204 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

The officers elected at this first Convention of the United 
Sons of Confederate Veterans were as follows: Mr. J. E. B. 
Stu'art, of Eichmond, General Commanding; Mr. Robert A. 
Smyth, of Charleston, Lieutenant G-eneral in command of the 
Department of Iforthern Yirginia; Mr. John L. Hardeman, of 
Macon, Ga., Lieutenant General in command of the Depart- 
ment of Tennessee. The election of the Lieutenant General of 
the Trans-Mississippi Department was deferred until the or- 
g'anization of State Divisions in that Department; Mr. R. H. 
Pinckney, of Charleston, Quartermaster General; Mr. George 
B. Williamson, of Columbia, Tenn., Inspector General; Dt. 
Stuart McGuire, of Richmond, Surgeon General ; Mr. E. P. Mc- 
Kissick, of Asheville, N. C. Commissary General; Bishop T. F. 
Gailor, of Tennessee, Grand Chaplain; Mr. T. R. R. Cobb, of 
Atlanta, Ga., Judge Advocate General. 

The officers of this new Association are exerting every ef- 
fort to thoroughly organize and build up the same, and to this 
end their efforts will be directed to the formation of camps of 
Sons in every city and town in the South. 

According to the Constitution the Convention of the United 
Sons of Confederate Veterans is held at the same time and place 
as the United Confederate Veterans, so that the next convention 
will meet at jSTashville, Tenn, 

The General Commanding has the power to appoint a staff 
to aid him in his work, as have also the Lieutenant Generals 
and the Commanders of Divisions. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart 
has appointed Mr. Edwin P. Cox, of Richmond, Virginia, his 
Adjutant General and Chief of Staff. The Lieutenant Generals 
have not as yet been appointed. 



Origin of United Confederate Veterans 205 

ORIGIN OF UNITED CONFEDERATE VETERANS. 

By J. M. Lucey. 

The originator of the idea whicli culminated in the organ- 
ization of the United Confederate Veterans is Capt. J. F. Shipp, 
Commander of the N. B. Forrest Camp, U. C. V., of Chatta- 
nooga, Tenn., who was quartermaster general on the staff of 
General J. B. Gordon, and who now occupies a similar position 
on the Staff of General Stephen D. Lee. One of his prime ob- 
jects in advocating and promoting the organization of the United 
Confederate Veterans was in that way to promote the purchase 
of the Chickamauga battlefield by the United States government. 
The movement was started January, 1889. The last session of 
the Georgia legislature had granted a clrarter to thirty or forty 
gentlemen who had been prominent officers in the Confederate 
armies in the Civil War, many of them being at the time mem- 
bers of the upper and lower houses of the national Congress. 
The purpose of the Association was to have Congress appropriate 
a sum of money sufficient to purchase the ground on which the 
battle of Chickamauga was fought and to make it a grand park. 
Many influential Northern men who served in the federal army 
became interested, as it was intended, by means of Northern and 
Southern monuments and other marks, to locate the several po- 
sitions of the armies, so that the men of the Union and Con- 
federate forces might meet often in fraternal reunions, and by 
relating their experiences "bridge over the bloody chasm."' This 
dream of Capt. Shipp has been more than realized, as there 
is now a great national military park not only at Chickamauga 
but also at Shiloli and Vicksburg, and the annual gatherings " 
of Union and Confederate soldiers have been attended with a 
feeling so fraternal that so far as they are concerned the Avar is 
over. 

Capt. Shipp purposely selected New Orleans as the place 
in which to inaugiirate the movement for the organization of 
the United Confederate Veterans, which with the Grand Army 
of the Eepublic was to have a general supervision over the parks, 
recognizing that city as the geographical centre of Confederate 



306 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

sentiment. In New Orleans were already existing three some- 
what old associations of Confederate Veterans: The Association 
of the xA.rmy of, Northern Virginia, Louisiana Division; The 
Association of the Army of Tennessee, Louisiana Division; and 
The Association of the Washington Artillery. In other parts 
of the South — Arkansas included — there were also Confederate 
associations, some large, others small, but all independent of 
one another. 

It was on tne occasion of the annual banquet and 
reunion of the Louisana Divison of the Army of Northern 
A^irginia at New Orleans, January 19, 1889, the same being 
Eolier E. Lee's birthday, and approximately Stonewall Jack- 
son's to which ('apt. Shipp had been invited, that he sought 
to 'advocate and promulgate his plan for the federation of all 
Confederate Veteran organizations under one constitution and 
one general commander. There were about 400 prominent Con- 
federate Veterans present, chief among whom was Jefferson 
Davis, whose address, in sympathy in its general tenor with the 
idea of Capt. Sliipp, was on, "The Army of Northern Virginia 
and Its Leaders." This was his last address, in fact his last 
appearance in public. His death occurred December 6, 1889. 
The idea of Capt. Shipp was endorsed at tliis meeting and 
iipoii a call being made by the Louisiana Divisions of the Army 
of Northern Virginia and of the Army of Tennessee, u con- 
vention of the scattered Confederate associations of the South 
was held in New Orleans, June 10th, 1889, and a plan of 
organization adopted. The present name was agreed upon and 
the office of General Commander with staff, was created. Sev- 
eral years later three departments were established : Depart- 
ment of Army of Northern Virginia, Lieutenant General C. 
Irvne Walker, Commander; Department of Army of Tennes- 
see, Lieutenant General Clement A. Evans, Commander; and 
the Trans-Mississippi Department, Lieutenant General W. L. 
Cabell, Commander. Some years afterwards a fourth depart- 
ment, known as the Department of the Northwest, was created. 
Each of the Southern States was to be commanded by a Major 
General with brigadiers under liim. All these officers from 



Origin of United Confederate Veterans 207 

General to Brigadier are elected annually. The above named 
generals are now in office. 

Each state organization meets annually in reunion. Dele- 
gates from all the State camps meet in some central Southern 
city every year in a general reunion and will continue to meet 
for a few more years, when the mantle of Southern honor will 
be transferred to the Sons of United Confederate Veterans. 
The first reunion of the general organization, U. C. V. was held 
July 3, 4, 5, 1890, at Chattanooga, in compliment to General 
Shipp. The last one was held in Eichmond, Va., May 30, 1907, 
as a memorial to Jefferson Davis. 



SOUTHERN GIRLS MARRY ONE-LEGGED 
SOLDIERS. 

Soon after the war I once expressed my sympathy to a 
young lady friend who was about to marry a young one-armed 
soldier. "I want no sympathy. I think it is a great privilege 
and honor to be the wife of a man who lost his arm figMing 
for my country/' was her prompt reply. That's your Soutliern 
girl. 

When John Redding, of Randolph County, Ga., was brought 
home wounded from Chickamauga. it was found necessary to 
amputate his leg. On the day fixed fo^r the dangerous operation, 
his many friends were gathered at his father's country home. 
Among them was Miss Carrie McNeil, to whom he was engaged. 
After he had passed safely through the ordeal she, of course, 
was allowed to be the first to go to see him. They were left 
alone for awhile. The next to go in was an aunt of Miss Car- 
rie's and as she shook hands with poor John and was about to 
pass on, he said, "Ain't you going to kiss me too?" Ah, what a 
tale that question told. The gallant soldier had offered to re- 
lease his betrothed from her engagement, but she said, "no, no, 
John, I can't give you up, and I love you better than ever," and 
a kiss had sealed their holy love. 

WHien Tom Phipps, of Randolph County, Ga., came home 
on crutches he offered to release Miss Maggie Pharham from 



208 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

her engagement. "No, Tom," she said, '^e can make a liv- 
ing." There are hundreds of these noble, God-given Canie Mc- 
Neils and Maggie Pharhams all over our war wrecked South. 



SPECIMEN CASES OF DESERTION. 

From Underwoods Women of the Confederacy. 

We by no means excuse or palliate desertion to the enemy, 
which is universally recognized as one of the basest crimes known 
to military law; but most of the desertions from the Confeder- 
ate army occurred during the latter part of the war, and many 
of them were brought about by the most heart-rendering letters 
from home, telling of suffering and even starving families, and 
we cannot class these cases with those who deserted to join the 
enemy, or to get rid of the hardships and dangers of the army. 
Some most touching cases came under our observation, but we 
give only the following incidents as illustrating many other 
cases. 

A distinguished major-general in the Western army has 
given us this incident. An humble man but very gallant sol- 
dier from one of the Gulf States, had enlisted on the assurance 
of a wealthy planter that he would see his young wife and child 
should not lack for support. 

The brave fellow had served his country faithfully, until 
one day he received a letter from his wife, saying that the rich 
neighbor who had promised to keep her from want now utterly 
refused to give or to sell her anything to eat, unless she would 
submit to the basest proposals which he was persistently making 
her, and that unless he could come home she saw nothing but 
starvation before her and his child. The poor fellow at once ap- 
plied for a furlough, and was refused. He then went to the 
gallant soldier who is my informant and stated the case in full, 
and told him that he must and would go home if he was shot 
for it the day he returned. The general told him while he could 
not give him a permit, he did not blame him for his determina- 
tion. 

The next day he was reported '"absent without leave," and 



Specimen Cases of Desertion 209 

was hurrying to his home. He moved his wife and child to a 
place of safety and made provision for their support. Then re- 
turning to the neighborhood of his home, he caught the mis- 
creant who had tried to pollute the hearthstone of one who 
was risking his life for him, dragging him into the woods, tied 
him to a tree, and administered to him a flogging that he did 
not soon forget. The brave fellow then hurried back to his regi- 
ment, joined his comrades just as they were going into battle, 
and behaved with such conspicuous gallantr\' as to make all 
forget that he had ever, even for a short time, been a "deserter." 

The other incident which we shall give was related by Gen- 
eral C. A. Battle, in a speech at Tuscumbia, Ala., and is as 
follows : 

During tlie winter of 1862-3 it was my fortune to be presi- 
dent of one of the courts-martial of the Army of Xorthem Vir- 
ginia. One bleak December morning, while the snow covered the 
ground and the winds howled around our camp, I left my bivouac 
fire to attend the session of the court. Winding for miles along 
uncertain paths, I at length arrived at the court-ground at 
Round Oak Church. Day after day it had been our duty to try 
the gallant soldiers of that army charged with violations of 
military law ; but never had I on any previous occasion been 
greeted by such, anxious spectators as on that morning awaited 
the opening of the court. Case after case was disposed of, and 
at length the case of "The Confederate States vs. Edward Coop- 
er" was called; charge, desertion. A low murmur rose spon- 
taneously from the battle-scarred spectators as a young artillery- 
man rose from he prisoner's bench, and, in response to the ques- 
tion, "Guilty or not guilty?" answered, "Not guilty." 

The judge advocate was proceeding to open the prosecution, 
when the court, observing that the prisoner was unattended by 
counsel, interposed and inquired of the accused, "Who is your 
counsel ?" 

He replied. "I have no counsel." 

Supposing that it was his purpose to represent himself ]>e- 
fore the court, the Judge advocate was instructed to proceed. 
Every charge and specification against the prisoner was sus- 
tained. 



XIV 



210 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

The prisoner was then told to introduce his witnesses. 

He replied, "I have no Mdtnesses." 

Astonished at the calmness with which he seemed to be 
submitting to what he regarded as inevitable fate, I said to him, 
"Have you no defense? Is it possible that you abandoned your 
comrades and deserted your colors in the presence of the enemy 
without any reason ?" 

He replied, "There was a reason, but it will not avail me 
before a military court." 

I said, "Perhaps you are mistaken; you are charged with 
the highest crime known to military law, and it is your duty to 
make known the causes that influenced your actions." 

For the first time his manly form trembled and his blue 
eyes swa.m in tears. i\.pproaching the president of the court, 
he presented a letter, saying, as he did so, "There, colonel, is 
what did it." I opened the letter, and in a moment my eyes 
filled with tears. 

It was passed from one to another of the court until all had 
seen it, and those stern warriors who had passed with Stonewall 
Jackson through a hundred battles wept like little children. 
Soon as I saifficiently recovered my self-possession, I read the 
letter as the prisoner's defense. It was in these words: 

My Dear Edward: I have always been proud of you, and 
since your connection with the Oonfederate army I have been 
prouder of you than ever before. I would not have you do any- 
thing wrong for the world ; but before Grod, Edward, unless 
you come home we must die. Last night I was aroused by lit- 
tle Eddie's crying, I called and said, "What's the matter, Ed- 
die?" and he said, "Oh, mamma, I'm so hungry." And Lucy, 
Edward, your darling Lucy, she never complains, but she is 
growing thinner and thinner every day. And before God, Ed- 
ward, unless you come home we must die. Your Mary. 

Turning to the prisoner, I asked, "What did you do when 
you received this letter?" 

He replied, "I made application for a furlough, and it was 
rejected; again I made application, and it was rejected; and 
that night, as I wandered backward and forward in the camp, 
thinking of my home, with the mild eyes of Lucy looking up 



Specimen Cases of Desertion 211 

to me, and the burning words of Mary sinking in my brain, 
I was no longer the Confederate soldier, but I was the father 
of Lucy and the husband of Mary, and I would have passed 
those lines if every gun in the battery had fired upon me. I 
went to my home. Mary ran out to meet me, her angel arms 
embraced me, and she whispered, '^0, Edward, I am so happy. 
I am so glad you got your furlough.' She must have felt me 
shudder, for she turned pale as death, and, catching her breath 
at every word, she said, 'Have you come without your furlough? 
0, Edward, Edward, go back, go back. Let me and my children 
go down together to the grave, but 0, for heaven's sake, save the 
honoT of our name. And here I am, gentlemen, not brought 
here by military power, but in obedience to the command of 
Mary, to abide the sentence of your court." 

Every officer of that court-martial felt the force of the pris- 
oner's words. Before tliem stood, in beatific vision, the eloquent 
pleader for the husband's and father's wrongs; but they had 
been trained by their great leader, Eobert E. Lee, to tread the 
path of duty though the lightning's flash scorched the ground 
beneath their feet, and each in his turn pronounced the verdict: 
"Guilty." Fortunately for humanity, fortunately for the Con- 
federacy, the proceedings of the court were reviewed by the 
commanding-general, and u]X)n the record was written : 

Headquarters Army of ^NTorthern Virginia. 
Tlie finding of the court is approved. The prisoner is par- 
doned and will report to liis company. R. E. Lee, General. 

During the subsequent battle, wlien shot and shell were 
falling "like torrents from the mountain cloud," my attention 
was directed to the fact tliat one of our batteries was being si- 
lenced by the concentrated fire of the enemy. When 1 reached 
the battery every gun but one had been dismantled, and by it 
stood a solitary soldier, with the blood streaming from his side. 
As he recognized me, he elevated his voice above the roar of 
battle, and said, "General, I have one shell left. Tell me, have I 
saved the honor of Mary and Lucy?" I raised my hat. Once 
more a. Confederate shell went crashing through the ranks of the 
enemy, and the hero sank by his gun to rise no more. 



212 Confederate Womex of Arkansas 

WOMAN'S DEVOTION. 

General D. H. Maury, in Southern Historical Papers. 

The history of Winchester is replete with romantic and glo- 
rious memories of the late war. One of the most intereseting 
of these has been perpetuated by the glowing pencil of Oregon 
Wilson, himself a native of this valley, and the fine picture he 
has made of the incident portraj^ed by him has drawn tears from 
many who loved their Southern country and the devoted women 
who elevated and sanctified by their heroic sacrifices the cause 
which, borne down for a time, now rises again to honor all who 
sustained it. 

That truth, which is stranger than fiction, is stronger, too. 
The simple historic facts which gave Wilson the theme of his 
great pictures, a cut of which appears on another page of this 
book, gains nothing from the romantic glamour his beautiful 
art has thrown about the actors in the story. 

In 1864, General Ramseur, commanding a Confederate 
force near Winchester, was suddenly attacked by a Federal 
force under General Averell. and after a sharp encounter was 
forced back through the town. Tlie battlefield was near the 
residence of Mr. Rutlierford, about two miles distant, and the 
wounded were gathered in his house and yard. The Confederate 
surgeons left in charge of these wounded men appealed to the 
women of Winchester (the men had all gone oft' to the war) to 
come out and aid in dressing the wounds and nursing the 
wounded. As was always the way of these Winchester women, 
they promptly responded to this appeal, and on the — day of 
July, more than twenty ladies went out to Mr. Rutherford's 
to minister to their suffering countrymen. There were more 
than sixty severely wounded men who had been collected from 
the battlefield and were lying in the house and garden of ilr. 
Rutherford. The weather was warm, and those out of doors 
were as comfortable and as quiet as those within. Amongst 
them was a beardless boy named Randolph Ridgely; he was se- 
verely hurt; his thigh Avas broken by a bullet and his suffer- 
ings were very great; his nervous system was shocked and un- 
strung, and he could find no rest. The kind surgeon in charge 



Wo.MAx's Devotion 213 

of him had many others to care for; he felt that quiet sleep was 
all important for his young patient, and he placed him under 
charge of a young girl who had accompanied these ladies from 
Winchester ; told her his life depended on his having quiet sleep 
that night ; showed her how best to support his head, and prom- 
ised to return to see after his condition as soon and as often 
as his duties to the other wounded would permit. 

All through that anxious night the brave girl sat, sustain- 
ing the head of the wounded youth and carefully guarding him 
against everything that could disturb his rest or break the slum- 
ber into which he gently sank, and which was to save his life. 
She only knew and felt that a brave Confederate life depended 
on her care. She had never seen him before, nor has she ever 
seen him since. And when at dawn the surgeon came to her, 
he found her still watching and faithful, just as he had left 
her at dark — as only a true woman, as we love to believe our 
A^'irginia women, can be. The soldier had slept soundly. He 
awoke only once during the night, when tired nature forced his 
nurse to change her posture; and when after the morning came 
she was relieved of her charge, and she felt ill of the exhaustion 
and exposure of that night, her consolation during the weary 
weeks she lay suffering was that she had saved a brave soldier 
for her countrj'. 

In the succeeding year. Captain Hancock, of the Louisiana 
Infantr}-. was brought to Winchester, wounded and a prisoner. 
He lay many weeks in the hospital, and when nearly recovered 
of his wounds, was notified that he would be sent to Fort Dela- 
ware. As the time drew near for his consignment to this hope- 
less prison he confided to Miss Lenie Eussell, the same young 
girl who had saved young Ridgely's life, that he was engaged to 
be married to a young lady of lower Virginia, and was resolved 
to make his escape. She cordially entered into his plans, and 
aided in their successful accomplishment. The citizens of Win- 
chester were permitted sometimes to send articles of food and 
comfort to the sick and wounded Confederates, and Miss Rus- 
sell availed herself of this to procure the escape of the gallant 
captain. She caused him to don the badge of a hospital at- 
tendant, take a market basket on his arm and accompany her to 



214 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

a house^ whence he might, with least danger of detection and 
arrest, effect his return to his own lines. Captain Hancock 
made good use of his opportunity and safely rejoined his com- 
rades ; survived the war ; married his sweetheart, and to this day 
omits no occasion for showing his respect and gratitude for the 
generous woman to whose courage and address he owes his free- 
dom and his happiness. 



THE CONFEDERATE MUSEUM OF RICHMOND. 

From Underwoods Women of the Confederacy. 

This house, built for a gentleman's private residence, was 
thus occupied until 1862. when Mr. Lewis Crenshaw, the own- 
er, sold it to the city of Richmond for the use of the Confederate 
government. The city, having furnished it, offered it to Mr. 
Davis, but he refused to 'accept the gift. The Confederate gov- 
ernment then rented it for the "Executive Mansion" of the 
Confederate States. President Davis lived here with .his fam- 
ily, using the house both in a private and official capacity. The 
present "Mississippi" room was his study, where he often held 
important conferences with his great leaders. In this house 
amid the cares of state, joy, and sorrow. "Winnie," the cherished 
daughter, was bom, and here "Litte Joe," died from the effects 
of a fall from the back porcn. It remained Mr. Davis's home 
until the evacuation of the city of Richmond. He left with the 
government officials on the night of April 2, I860. On the morn- 
ing of April 3, 1865, General Godfrey Witzel, in command of the 
Federal troops, upon entering the city, made this house his 
headquarters. It was thus occupied by the United States Grov- 
emment during the five years Virginia was under military rule, 
and called "District No. 1." 

In the present "Georgia" room, a day or two after the eva- 
cuation, Mr. Lincoln was received. He was in the city only a 
few hours. When at last the militar}' was removed and the 
house vacated, the city at once took possession, using it as a pub- 
lic school for more than twenty years. In order to make it 
more comfortable for school purposes, a, few unimportant al- 
terations were made. It was the first public school in the city. 



The Confederate Museum of Richmond 215 

War had left its impress on the building, and the constant 
tread of little feet did almost as much damage. It was with 
great distress that our people (particularly the women), saw 
the "White House of the Confederacy" put to such uses, and 
rapidly falling into decay. To save it from destruction, a 
mass-meeting was called to take steps for its restoration. A so- 
ciety was formed, called the "Confederate Memorial Literary 
Society," whose aim was the pi'eservation of the mansion. Their 
first act was to petition the city to place it in their hands, to be 
used as a memorial to President Davis and a museum of those 
never-to-be-forgotten days, '61-'65. It was amazing to see the 
wide-spread enthusiasm aroused by the plan. With as little 
delay as possible the city, acting through aldermen and co^un- 
cil. made the deed of conveyance, which was ratified by the 
then Major of Richmond, the Hon. J. Taylor EUyson, 

The dilapidation of the entire property was extreme, but 
to its restoration and preservation the society had pledged itself. 
They had no money — the city had already given its part — ^what 
could be done ? To raise the needed funds it was decided to hold 
a "memorial bazaar" in Richmond for the joint benefit of the 
museum and the monument to the private soldier and sailo'r. 

All through the South the plan of the museum and the ba- 
zaar was heartily endorsed; so that donations of eyery kind 
poured in. Each .State of the Confederacy was represented by a 
booth, with the name, shield, and the flag of her State. The 
whole sum realized was $31,400. Half of this was given to com- 
plete the monument to the private soldiers and sailors now 
standing on Libby Hill, and the other half went to the museum. 

The partition walls were already of brick, and the whole 
house had Ijeen strongly and well built, but the entire build- 
ing was now made fireproof, and every other possible precau- 
tion taken for its safety. In every particular the old house in 
its entirety was preserved, the wood work (replaced by iron) 
being used for souvenirs. The repairs were so extensive that 
the building was not ready for occupancy until late in 1895. 

On February 22, 1896. the dedication service was held, 
and the museum formally throw open to the public. 

But the house was entirely empty. Rapidly the memorials 



216 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

were gathered from each loyal State and placed in their several 
rooms. From start to finish the whole work has been a free-will 
offering to the beloved cause. 

The treasury had been nearly exhausted by the restoration 
of the building. The current expenses were met only by the 
strictest economy, and largely carried on by faith. In the past 
nine years miich has been accomplished. The institution is free 
from debt; and tlie museum is now widely known. But much 
lies ahead in the ideal the patriotic women have set before them 
and the work grows larger, more important and far reaching as 
it is approached. Such is the interest felt in the museum that 
during the past year they have had 7,459 visitors, of whom 3,717 
were from the North. It is by these door fees that the expenses 
are met. 

It would be quite impossible to enumerate all the articles 
of interest to be found here. The memorials gathered are not 
only interesting in themselves, but invaluable for the tnith and 
lessons which they teach. Historians in search of information 
can here obtain original data in regard to the "War between 
the States." The United States (Tovernment has already made 
use of these records for its new Navy Register. Each Confed- 
erate State is hereby represented by a room., set apart in special 
honor of her sons and their deeds. A regent in that State has 
it in charge, and is responsible for its contents and appearance. 
A vicchregent (as far as possible a native of that State, but re- 
siding in Richmond) gives her personal supervision to the room 
and its needs. The labor is incessant, and would be impossible, 
but for the fact that it is impelled by a sense of sacred love and 
duty. 

Of the women of the Confederacy, of our brave and un- 
complaining soldier, of their great leaders, as well as of our 
illustrious chief, it well may be said: 

"Would you see their monument? 
Look around." 



Barbara Frietchie 21 T 

BARBARA FRIETCHIE. 

Here is a part of the story of the Maryland woman and thf 
Federal flag in the famous poem of John G. Wliittier : 

"Bravest of all in Fredericktown 

She took up the flag the men hauled down; 

In her attic window the staff she set 

To show that one heart was loyal yet. 

Up the street came the rebel tread, 

Stonewall Jackson riding ahead; 

Under his slouch hat left and right 

He glanced; the old flag met his sight. 

"Halt," the dust-brown ranks stood fast, 

"Fire," out blazed the rifle blast, 

It shivered the window pane and sash. 

It rent the banner with seam and gash. 

Quick as it fell from the broken stafl', 

Dame Barbara snatched the silken scarf." 
This is poetry, but it is not history. It is not truth. It 
does not sound like it. Nobody but men like Whittier. blinded 
by New England prejudice and steeped in ignorance of Southern 
people, would for a moment have thought Stonewall Jackson 
capable of giving an order to fire on a woman. None of the 
story sounds at all like "Stonewall Jackson." To their credit the 
later editions of Whittier's poems cast a grave doubt on the 
truth of the story, and now Mr. John McLean, an old next door 
neighbor to the genuine Barbara Frietchie, has given to Mr. 
Smith Clayton, of the Atlanta Journal, the true story showing 
Whittiei-'s tale to be nothing but a myth. Mr. Clayton says : 

"Coming up to Washington from Richmond the other day, 
I brushed up an acquaintance with a very pleasant, intelligent 
and, by the way, handsome gentleman, Mr. John McLean, a 
conductor on the Richmond, Frederickburg and Washington 
Railroad. In the course of conversation he mentioned Freder- 
ick, Md. I laughed and said: 

"Did you ever meet Barbara Frietchie?" 
"Why, my dear sir," he replied. "She lived just across the 
street from my father's home." 



218 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

"You don't say so?" 

"It's a fact ; and let me tell you, that poem is a 'fake' pure 
and simple. I was a child during the war, but I'll give you the 
truth about Barbara Frietchie as I got it from the lips of my 
father and mother." 

And then he told me this interesting story : 

"Ever been to Frederick?" 

"No." 

"Well, just where the turn pike enters the town my father 
and mother lived in the old homestead. Directly across the way 
lived Mr. Frietchie. He was a tailor, and a good, clever man 
and honest citizen. His house had two stories. On the ground, 
or street floor, was his shop. The family lived up stairs. There 
was a balcony to the upper story of the house facing the street. 
It was from that balcony that the flag wa.s waved, but Barbara 
Frietchie had no uiore to do with it than you. General Stone- 
wall Jackson, returning from Monocacy passed through Freder- 
ick at the head of his army. He entered the town by the turn 
pike and marched between the house of Mr. Frietchie and the 
home of my parents. There was a United States flag in the 
tailors house. His eldest daughter, Mary Quantrell, think- 
ing that the Union army was coming, mistaking Jackson's men 
for the Federals seized this flag, ran out upon the balcony and 
waved it. 0biser\iing her. General Stonewall Jackson, who 
was riding at the head of his troops, took off his hat and or- 
dered his men to uncover their heads. They did so, and General 
Jackson said that he gave the order to uncover because he want- 
ed his men to show proper appreciation of a woman who had the 
loyalty and patriotism to stand up for her side. Those are the 
facts. My parents were there. They told me. I tell you. 
There was no sticking a flag staff in any window. No order 
by General Jackson to 'Halt' and 'Fire;' no seizing of tlie flag * 
and waving it after it had been shot from the staff; no liegging 
to General Jackson to shoot anyljody's grey head, but to 'spare * 
the flag of his country' — all of this is described in the poem — 
but none of it happened. Very funny about Barbara Frietchie 
being four score and ten.' " 

"Who was Barbara Frietchie ?" 



The C'oxtiUEKED Banner 219 

"Why she was the A'oung daughter of Mr. Frietchie — the 
young sister of Mary Quantrell, who waved the flag — tliat's all." 

Mr. Melvean told me that he had three brothers in the Fed- 
eral army. His brother was doorkeeper of the Maryland As- 
sembly and his uncle a member during the stormy sessions held 
at Frederick, when that body hotly discussed, for many days, 
the fjuestion as to whether Maryland should secede. 



THE CONQUERED BANNER. 

By Father Ahrani Ry^an. 
Furl that banner ! for 'tis weary, 
Eound its staff 'tis drooping dreary ; 

Furl it, fold it, it is best ; 
For there's not a man to wave it 
For there's not a sword to save it, 
For there's not one left to lave it 
In the blood which heroes gave it, 
And its foes now^ scorn and brave it; 

Furl it, hide it, let rest. 

Take that banner down ! 'tis tattered, 
Broken is its staff and shattered, 
And the valiant hosts are scattered, 

Over whom it floated high, 
Oh, 'tis hard for us to fold it. 
Hard to think there's none to hold it, 
Hard that those who once unrolled it, 

ISTow must furl it with a sigh. 

Furl that banner, furl it sadlj' — 
Once ten thousand hailed it gladly, 
And ten thousand wildly, madly. 

Swore it should forever wave ; 
Swore that foeman's sword could never 
Hearts like theirs entwined dissever, 
Till that flag would float forever 

()"( r their freedom or their grave. 



220 Confederate Women of Arkansas 

Furl it, for the hands that grasped it, 
And the hearts that fondly clasped it, 

Cold and dead are lying low; 
For, though conquered, they adore it, 
Love the cold, dead hands that bore it, 
Weep for those who fell before it, 

Pardon those who trailed and tore it, 
And oh ! how wildly they deplore it — 
Now to furl and fold it so. 

Furl that banner! true 'tis gory. 
Yet 'tis wreathed around with glory. 
And 'twill live in song and story. 

Though its folds are in the dust ; 
For its fame on brightest pages. 
Penned by poets and by sages, 
Shall go sounding down the ages, 

Furl its folds though now we must. 
Furl that banner! softly, slowly; 
Treat it gently, — it is holy — 

For it droops above the dead; 
Touch it not, unfold it never. 
Let it droop there, furled forever, 

For its people's hopes are 4ead. 



Perhaps no poem ever touched and thrilled the hearts of 
the people of the South as has the "Conquered Banner" by 
Father Ryan. It came from the heart of the poet at a time 
when the Southland stood in grief and in untold sorrow. 
Though his face wore a serious and almost sad aspect, he dearly 
loved little children and would frequently gather them about 
him and interest them with some tale. One Christmas, a little 
girl presented him with a pretty little scroll of the "Conquered 
Banjier," His lips quivered and placing his hand upon the 
head of the child as he gave his blessing in gratitude for the 
gift, he said to her, call your little sisters and I will tell a story. 



The Conquered Banner 221 

"Man}- people said that the "Conquered Banner" was a great 
poem. I did not think so when I wrote it, but a poor woman 
who did not have much education, but whose heart was filled 
with love for the South thought so and if it had not been for 
her this poem would have been swept out of the house and 
burned up and I would never had this pretty book mark or this 
true story to tell you." 

I was at Knoxville when the news came that General Lee 
had surrenedered at Appomatox court house. It was night and 
I was sitting in my room in a house where many of the regi- 
ments of which I was Chaplain were quartered, when an old 
comrade came in and said to me : All is lost. General Lee has 
surrendered." I looked at him, I knew by his whitened face 
that the news was too true, I bowed my head upon the table 
and wept long and bitterly. Then a thousand thoughts came 
rushing through my brain. I could not control them. That 
banner was conquered, its folds must be furled but its story had 
to be told. We were very poor my dear children in the days of 
the war. I looked around for a piece of paper to give expres- 
sion to the thoughts that cried out within me. All that I could 
find was a piece of brown wrapping paper that layed on the 
table about an old pair of shoes that a friend had sent me. I 
siezed this piece of paper and wrote the"Conquered Banner." 
Then I went to bed. The next morning the regiment was 
ordered away and I thought no more of the lines written in such 
sorrow and desolation of spirit on that fearful night. What was 
my astonishment a few weeks later to see them appear above 
my name in a Louisville paper. The poor woman who kept the 
house in 'Knoxville had gone as she afterwards told me, into the 
room where I had slept and was about to throw the piece of 
paper into the fire when she saw that there was something 
written upon it. She said that she sat down and cried and 
copying them she sent the lines to a newspaper in Louisville. 
And that is how the "Conquered Banner" got into print. That 
is the story of this pretty little scroll you have painted for me." 

The writer may add that a monument to the memory of 
Father Ryan will be erected very soon in his home — Mobile, Ala. 



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